


Pining All The Way

by thewaywedo33



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Quasi-Lumberjack Nicole Haught, Teacher Waverly Earp, WayHaught Pining Like a Damn Evergreen Forest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 14:32:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 29,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17789159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewaywedo33/pseuds/thewaywedo33
Summary: It might be Waverly Earp's first year in charge of the school holiday play, but she wants it to go off without a hitch. If that means accepting help from family, co-workers, and an enigmatic, maybe-kind-of attractive Tree Farm owner to get it done, well, she's not above it. Now if she can just figure out a way to stop pining harder than the donated Christmas trees. The only problem is, Nicole Haught is making it awfully difficult to do.Hey everyone, it's a WayHaught Hallmark Christmas Movie Fic!





	1. The Introduction

Waverly Earp wondered if there was a limit on the amount of times a person should question their own sanity in a single day. If there was, she was past it. Far, far past it.

The cause wasn’t the herd of children milling about, spastically interacting before their parents could corral them out of the school auditorium. Nor was it the ever growing to-do list associated with the project she’d _thought_ was a great idea to volunteer for. No, it was the pair of eyes that blinked back at her expectantly, looking for a desired response. Parents, or in this case, one parent in particular. She’d forgotten how absurd parents of small humans could be. Especially when it came to the cut-throat world of pageantry that was a school holiday play.

The balding man in front of her narrowed his eyes, as if he wasn’t getting the response he wanted fast enough. “I just think a tree would be a bit more...” He struggled to find a word, one Waverly suspected would raise her blood pressure. He finally settled on something, rolling his wrist with the rest of his statement. “ _Appropriate_ for a boy? Being a star just seems so–” in lieu of finishing the sentence he wiggled his fingers in what Waverly assumed was supposed the be jazz hands.

She resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. This ridiculous conversation wasn’t the first of the night to occur after she handed out the role assignments. If it was, maybe she would have more patience for the absurdity of it. Maybe. But it wasn’t the first, and she was darn well ready for it to be the last. She had a meeting due to start any moment, and the latest trivial parental meltdown was not going to delay it.

“Mr. Smith. Donald, is it?” She asked, reminding herself to smile through the whole interaction, even if it killed her. He nodded in confirmation. “Sam volunteered to be a Star, he’s really excited about it. In fact, two of his best buddies in class are also going to be Stars, so I think it might actually be a great bonding experience for the little dudes.” It took every ounce of her self control to not add that stars and trees and the like don’t even have genders, but the last thing she wanted was to extend the ridiculous conversation. Instead, she took the path most likely to appease.

Mrs. Smith picked the perfect time to interject, placing a hand on the man’s arm to squeeze gently. “She’s right, honey. Sam already asked if the boys can come over this weekend to practice.” She shot Waverly an apologetic look that her husband didn’t catch. “And he wants to have a snowball fight when they’re done, which I said was perfectly fine.”

Mr. Smith took a moment to mull it over before finally nodding his head, probably placated by the thought of the snowball fight. Nothing like throwing icy cold projectiles at each other to ensure one retains their manhood, Waverly mocked in her head.

By the time the last kid was ushered out by his harried parent, Waverly was ready to call it a day. She still had one more meeting to get through first, but good god, she was looking forward to her Wednesday night drink at Shorty’s with Wynonna.

As if conjuring up her sister with the very thought, Wynonna strode past the open doors of the auditorium. She came to a halt when she reached the second set of open doors, as if she could feel Waverly’s questioning eyes on here. “No time to talk, baby girl, gotta go put out a munchkin fire. I’ll swing back by when I’m done.” She directed at Waverly, before moving past the doors and out of sight.

Waverly furrowed her brow in concern. Alice hadn’t been present for the first meeting, but that was expected. A perk of being related to the show-runner, she already knew what holiday item she was impersonating on stage in a couple weeks. Not that Waverly would ever admit to favoritism, but if her niece wanted to dance her heart out as a candy cane for Christmas, then that’s what she got, even if it caused her mother to flop on the couch in protest at the idea. The reaction was in protest of figuring out how to make a candy cane costume, which gave Waverly a good laugh. Like she wasn’t the one who would do the majority of the costume prep.

When Jeremy bustled in through a set of the double doors, decidedly not the person she had her meeting with, Waverly wondered who else was going to parade through before this day would end.

“Your sister knows this is an elementary school, right?” He asked, eyebrows drawn down.

“Uh, yeah, last time I checked. Why?” Waverly answered, having no clue where the conversation was going. She picked up her jacket from where it was draped over a folded up auditorium chair to dig around the pockets for her chapstick.

“Because she just asked me if the substance on my shirt was–” he cut himself off, pointing at the gelatinous glob on the front left shoulder of his shirt before waving his hands around, trying to find the right thing to say. “Something completely inappropriate for the halls of a child’s center of learning!” He finally finished.

Waverly bit down on the inside of her cheek. She could guess exactly what Wynonna said, and, well, she could _kind_ of see where she was coming from. If she didn’t already know Jeremy’s penchant for conducting crazy science experiments with his classes that often left him stained with unidentifiable material, she might wonder herself. Not that she would ever say something that inappropriate within the walls of her school. “It’s hard to stop Wynonna from being all Wynonna, but I’ll ask her if she can PG it up a bit when she’s here.” She finally located her chapstick in the bottom of a jacket pocket and pulled it out with a victorious noise. She applied it heartily, cursing the cold weather for making it necessary.

Jeremy sighed, the frenetic energy leaving his body as his shoulders returned to their normal position.

Waverly put the top back on the chapstick with a click, pointing at Jeremy’s shoulder. “So what caused the mess today?”

His eyes lit up at the question. Waverly found his excitement over the experiments he did with his class adorable. They both were in their third year teaching at Purgatory Elementary, becoming fast friends almost immediately. Waverly, being the local kid who stayed put to teach the next generation, had helped Jeremy along his way to fit in to the small town dynamics. At first, his hands on teaching style was met with resistance by the parents, who had grown accustomed to old Mrs. Dobson’s teaching methods over the past thirty-five years. If you could call droning on from a text book and using slides and the occasional old Nova episode played on what Waverly assumed was the last remaining VCR in existence a teaching method. It was no wonder most of Mrs. Dobson’s progress reports sent home mentioned unruly children with difficulty paying attention or staying on task. Her science classes were _boring_. And Waverly would know, she’d had her as a teacher herself years ago. But now there was excitement amongst the students around science again. Every time Waverly heard a young voice in the hall recounting how Mr. Chetri had fallen on his face in the mud to catch a frog during their outdoor class today, or that Mr. Chetri had caused the _biggest_ smoke cloud ever in class, she smiled so big and felt a little more optimistic for the future of these kids.

She’d like to think she was playing her part too. As a History teacher, a lot of people assumed her job was to recite facts and write dates on a chalkboard, but she was never going to be that kind of teacher. She prided herself on hearing from parents how their kids came home excited about whatever pocket of history they’d discovered that day.

In the midst of Jeremy’s story about teaching his class to make homemade goo, a throat cleared from behind them. Waverly startled at the sound, dropping her chapstick before it could make its way back into her jacket pocket. She watched it roll the distance down the sloped center aisle of the auditorium towards the stage, where it came to a stop underneath the toe of a boot that purposefully halted its progress.

Jeremy made a quiet sort of strangled noise in his throat that only Waverly could hear, and it’s not hard for her to guess why when she sees the man who rescued her runaway chapstick. His mustache alone would cause a reaction, whether of lust or envy was up to the beholder. He wore a knit winter hat over hair Waverly could tell was dark and shiny, based on the locks that spilled out to chin-length. His Carhartt jacket was open, revealing a dark blue and green flannel underneath. She would have expected work boots on someone dressed in such attire, but he somehow pulled off well-worn cowboy style boots with the whole ensemble. One peak at Jeremy told Waverly he was just staring at the stranger, and she could definitely understand the appeal. Who wouldn’t find the whole lumberjack cowboy combo thing appealing?

The man reached down, pulling the chapstick from underneath his boot, and straightened up with a smile that revealed deep dimples. “Pardon me, miss, but I do believe this is yours?” His voice was low and gravelly.

Jeremy muttered something beside her, and Waverly tried to subtly smack him in the arm, though she was pretty sure the man saw it, if the way his eyes twinkled and his dimples deepened were anything to go by.

“It is, thank you.” Waverly responded, stepping forward to meet him down the aisle. “You must be the owner of Haught’s Tree Farm.” Considering his garb, and the appointment in her calendar, she didn’t think she was going too far out on a limb with the assumption. She mentally high fived herself for the pun. “I’m sorry, Principal Nedley didn’t give me a name to go with the business.” She kicked herself again for neglecting to do her normal level of research and preparation before the meeting.

A sparkle of humor appeared in his blue eyes before he spoke. “The name’s Doc. Doc Holliday. And I’m sorry to say, I’m just the hired help.” He winked at her, softening the blow of her incorrect assumption. His eyes darted over her shoulder, his chin jerking in the direction. “Here comes the boss now.”

Waverly wasn’t exactly sure the situation called for his level of amusement, but she turned with a shrug. It didn’t really matter who the boss was, she was ready to get this meeting over with and finally end the work day that would not end.

The train of her thoughts came to a screeching halt. An equal mix of embarrassment and curiosity took over as she watched the owner stroll down the aisle, jacket draped over an arm, beanie clutched in hand as _she_ took in the space of the auditorium. Her eyes locked on the trio of them, and then just Waverly, as she came to a stop. A smile spread across her face, and Waverly noted the dimples flashing in her cheeks and distantly wondered if the dimples was a prerequisite for working on a tree farm. Probably didn’t hurt when trying to sell goods to the public. “You must be Waverly Earp.”

“That’s me.” Waverly responded, putting on her automatic smile, a hazard of a few too many parent teacher conferences. She took the hand offered to her for a shake, and she couldn’t help but notice how soft and warm if felt. Not what she would have expected for someone in that particular line of work.

“I’m Nicole Haught.”

Waverly liked the name, found it pretty, and, well, a little accurate, but figured that was neither here nor there. “Nice to meet you, Nicole.” The corner of Nicole’s mouth twitched, one of her dimples deepening. Waverly wasn’t quite sure what the reaction was for, but she was saved from dwelling on it when Nicole turned her attention to Doc.

“I see you’ve already met my right hand man.” An amused glint took over her brown eyes. “Let me guess, they thought you were the owner?” She said it out of the side of her mouth, as if she murmured it just to Doc, and while Waverly was slightly mortified, the humor of the moment lessened some of it. She must have noticed some of Waverly’s discomfort, because her face softened as she spoke. “Don’t worry, happens all the time.” She introduced herself to Jeremy, who made it clear he was _not_ Waverly’s right hand man, just a friend thank you very much, and Waverly was somewhat amused at how both Doc and Nicole seem to take the weirdness in stride.

Once formalities were over, Nicole tossed her coat and hat over a folded up auditorium chair before clapping her hands together once. “So, Christmas trees. What do you need? What’s the vision?” She strolled a few more steps down the aisle.

Waverly blinked a few times, staring after her as her mind adjusted to the quick change in conversation. At the heart of things, they were having a business meeting, after all. She moved down the aisle to join Nicole, Doc and Jeremy following behind. Waverly couldn’t help be amused at how Jeremy seemed to stay close to Doc’s side, even though he had nothing to do with the play or the meeting. She was going to give him a slap in the shoulder later though, while she reminded him that he did, in fact, have a boyfriend.

She turned her attention back to Nicole. “We’re thinking three trees on each side of the stage, kind of diagonal, like this.” She turned her hand sideways and at an angle, holding it up to the stage to show the line she could see in her head. Nicole nodded, reaching for her back pocket to pull out a notebook. It was tiny and dog-eared, clearly used quite a bit. She patted around the front chest pockets on her green and red striped flannel, making a small sound of victory when she located the one that held a tiny pencil in it. Flipping past pages of what looked like indecipherable scribbles, she found a blank page and started writing. At the continued silence her eyes flit up to Waverly’s and held there for a moment, before her eyebrows quirked up ever so slightly. “Go on, I’m listening.”

“Oh, right, sorry.” Waverly said as she tucked a bit of hair behind her ear. She noticed again how Nicole gave her a small smile to alleviate any discomfort in the moment. “Uh, for those trees, I’m thinking maybe seven feet tall?”

Nicole squinted at the stage, as if she could see the set up in her own head as well, then turned to look at the back of the auditorium. She pointed the end of her stub pencil that way. “From back there, seven feet will seem pretty small. Maybe ten feet would give a better look.”

Waverly nodded. She could see the point. “Okay, ten feet it is. I like it.” She watched as Nicole scribbled another note down, waiting for her to look up before continuing. “But then, in the middle, I’m thinking the pier-de-resistance. A tree that will really wow.” She held her hands out, palms facing the stage, resisting the urge to wiggle her fingers, because that would probably be taking things a bit to far. “But I’m not sure how big your trees are.”

“Oh, they’re plenty big.” Doc spoke from behind them, startling Waverly a bit. She had almost forgotten he and Jeremy were there.

Nicole poked her tongue into a cheek at his comment, shooting him an eyebrow raise. He just wiggled his eyebrows back at her, and Waverly wondered for a moment at the nature of their relationship. Not that it was any of her business.

“A show stopper, huh?” Nicole took slow, deliberate steps forward, eyes fixed on the back of the stage. She dropped her notebook and pencil on the lip of the stage when she reached out, and without a moment of hesitation she planted her hands on the end and hoisted herself up, the rolled up sleeves of her flannel allowing the muscles of her forearms to show with the movement. She flawlessly executed the move, and Waverly was a little envious at the height that allowed her make the hop up onto the stage look so graceful.

“Too good for stairs now, are we?” Doc joked, choosing to take the normal route to the top of the stage, via the stairs on the side.

“Huh?” Nicole looked back at him, the comment clearly taking a moment to land. When it did she just shrugged, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Who has time for that kind of formality?”

Jeremy, who followed closely behind Waverly up the stairs, leaned in and murmured “Are these people even real?” She gave him what she hoped was a subtle swat, thankful when she avoided the goo still prominent on his shoulder.

By the time they made it to the middle of the stage Nicole was nodding, eyes fixed on the ceiling. “Yeah, we can make it work. I can definitely find a tree to fit the space.” She strolled back to the front of the stage to retrieve her abandoned notebook and pencil, jotting down another note.

“Oh my _god_ , please tell me it’s time for a damn drink.” Wynonna’s voice cut through the auditorium. She came to an abrupt halt at the stairs of the stage when she noticed the four sets of eyes fixed on her. “Woah, that is like, way more people than when I walked by before.”

Waverly jumped into action as Wynonna climbed the stairs to join them, eager to dissipate any awkwardness. “We’re having a meeting about the trees we need for the holiday party.” She waves a hand at the new additions to the group. “This is Nicole and Doc, from the tree farm that’s supplying the trees this year.” Could she say _tree_ more times? She really needed to work on her coolness.

Wynonna eyed Nicole and Doc. “Tree farm, huh? So many jokes, not enough time.” She muttered, though at a volume the whole room could hear.

“And this is my sister Wynonna, who–” Waverly’s brow crinkled as she spun back to Wynonna. “Wait, why are you here? Did Gus cancel tonight?”

Wynonna grimaced. “Oh no, Gus is here, picking up the munchkin. I’m here because I had the unexpected pleasure of a meeting with Principal Nedley about my unruly hell-span.”

The other people in the room faded from Waverly’s attention as concern took over. “Is Alice okay?”

Wynonna waved a hand in dismissal. “Oh yeah, she’s aces. That little punk Evan Harker tried telling her boys are cooler than girls, so she told him he was a stupid jerk and gave him a little shove.” She grins at Waverly. “Clearly she got the stupid jerk part from you, because we both know I would have used much more colorful language.”

“Oh boy. What’s the punishment going to be?” Waverly asked, ready to adhere to whatever guidelines Wynonna set, only to be reminded that she really should know better.

“From me?” Wynonna places a hand on her chest, shaking he head. “No punishment necessary. I gave her a high five and congratulated her on telling it like it is.” She took in the faces around the room. “What?” A sigh and roll of her eyes followed. “Don’t worry, Principal Nedley made it clear that fighting and shoving will not be tolerated in his school, because, and I quote, _Only hooligans resort to such behavior_. He actually said that, you guys.” She addressed the whole room, as if they were all old friends. “Anyway, Gus is bringing her home now for their Wednesday night dinner and Great Auntie time.”

Waverly nodded, trying to process the whole thing. She realized Nicole and Doc might be annoyed at the sudden veer off track for their meeting, and was ready to apologize for their wasted time, but it seemed they were rather amused by it all, if the expressions on their faces were anything to go by.

“She seems like a rather spirited little girl. You must be proud.” Doc said to Wynonna. The lopsided smile and crinkle to his eyes gave him a charm that Waverly figured must be appealing to a lot people. The way Wynonna chuckled at his response indicated she was one of them.

Waverly caught the tail end of an eye roll from Nicole, and she found she rather liked the reaction. It was one she herself had countless times over the years.

A throat cleared from the wings of the stage, Principal Nedley ambling his way toward them. “Pardon the interruption.” He sighed.

“What did my hellion do now? Single handedly dismantle the Patriarchy?” Wynonna asked, eyes narrowed.

Nedley gave her the closest thing to a side eye Waverly had ever seen him give. “I’m afraid not. She’ll have to try that another day, she’s gone with Gus.” His voice was stern and dry, but Waverly caught just the smallest glimpse of pride and humor. She was quite sure Principal Nedley actually had a bit of a soft spot for Alice, and if she squinted just right, that affection might actually extend to Wynonna. He rubbed at the back of his neck, singling Waverly out with his gaze. “I just got a phone call from Curtis. Turns out, he’s come down with a case of the chicken pox, so we can’t let him within a country mile of the school.”

Waverly stared at him as she tried to comprehend the words. Curtis had been volunteering for years to build the sets for the school plays and musicals, including the Holiday Spectacular. He was a carpenter by trade, and his skills were indispensable over the years. Not to mention how useful it was that he was now partially retired and had plenty of time to give. “Oh.” Waverly stated flatly. “Okay.” She continued, brain scrambling to figure out an alternative, but seeing the Play go down in flames right before her eyes. “I guess...maybe we don’t need sets?” She tried, but right away it was clear Nedley wasn’t going for it.

“Purgatory Elementary has put on one heck of a Holiday Spectacular for years now. Parents come to see their pride and joys dance around a stage that we are not going to leave bare of sets and decorations. Not on my watch.” He looked grim, which Waverly found a bit of an overreaction, but she certainly wasn’t going to tell him that. He scratched at his cheek. “I could mandate a teacher or two to help you out.”

The situation wasn’t ideal, but Waverly was going to have to make do. The story of her life, really. She puffed out her cheeks, shaking her head as she stared off into the middle distance. “Okay, we’ll make it work. Somehow.” She finished lamely.

“We could help.”

Every head in the room swiveled to Nicole, who looked rather surprised that she had spoken the words out loud. She recovered quickly enough. “If you needed it, we could help.”

“Who, prey tell, is we, exactly?” Doc asked, not looking entirely amused with the development. Nicole fixed him with a look that wasn’t entirely discernible, but it was steady, and after an awkward moment Doc cleared his throat. “I mean, we would love to help you with your Spectacular, in any way you need. During holiday season. When we are not plying our trades at the tree farm.” He finished, giving Nicole a look of his own.

Waverly spun towards Nicole. It was clear Doc had reservations, and Waverly understood them, yet she couldn’t help but feel hopeful. “Would you really be able to help?” She should leave it there, but something about the situation had her babbling. “I know you must be crazy busy this time of year, I can’t even imagine. But, if you could help, that would be amazing. I’m not even going to pretend it wouldn’t be huge.” She stopped, feeling heat on her cheeks.

The corners of Nicole’s lips quirked up. She gave Waverly a curious look, and for a moment, it felt to Waverly like they were the only two people in the room. The moment was just shy of unsettling before Nicole finally looked away, shrugging as her eyes wandered around the room. “Well, yeah, we should be able to make it work. I’m pretty handy with tools, when needed.”

“I’ll bet.” Wynonna coughed behind a balled up fist. Nicole gave her an unimpressed look. It was Wynonna’s turn to shrug. “What? Low hanging fruit.”

A half grin formed on Nicole’s face. “Fair enough. But back to the point, yeah we’d be happy to help.” She singled Nedley out. “If that would be okay with you, sir.”

Waverly tipped an imaginary cap at her for that little touch. It appeared Principal Nedley did as well, as he stood up just a tad straighter and his shoulders puffed up a bit. “No ‘Sir’ necessary, Nedley is just fine. And I think that would be mighty generous of you. We could certainly use the help.”

“We? You going to wield some power tools this year, Nedley?” Wynonna ribbed.

Nedley narrowed his eyes at her. “You know, we’re always looking for parent volunteers for stuff like this. My memory is getting a little rusty, remind me, when was the last time you put in some time at your daughter’s school?”

Wynonna opened her mouth to give what Waverly was sure would be a smartass response, but shut her mouth again when she noticed the five sets of questioning eyes directed at her. She sighed deeply, the put-upon she felt on full display. “Fine.” She threw her hands out to the side. “I’ll show up and hammer some shit.” She had the audacity to wink at Waverly.

“Woah, woah, language.” Nedley growled at her, missing the eyeroll he got in response when he turned his attention back to Waverly. “It’s settled then. The tree people will help, your sister will show up, and I’ll rassle up a teacher or two to give you hand.” He gave Jeremy a pointed look.

Waverly didn’t miss the way Jeremy eyed Doc before responding. “Uh, you know, I could probably put in some time.” He clapped Waverly awkwardly on the shoulder. “Anything for my buddy, Waverly. Because we are tight.” He bumped his own fists together.

“Right.” Nedley answered dryly. “Okay then, I’m going to leave you all to it. I’ve got a new season of NCIS waiting for me at home on Netflix.” He ambled off the stage. “What kind of grown man gets chicken pox?” He muttered to himself as he ducked out into the hallway.

“Well, this has been about as fun as waiting on test results at an STD clinic, not that I would know anything thing about that.” Wynonna amended. “But I’m gonna go before all these shenanigans tire a gal out.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Catch you later, sis.” She beat such a hasty retreat Waverly didn’t even have time to respond.

“Your sister, she is quite the character.” Doc mused.

Waverly hummed in agreement as she watched Wynonna leave. “That is certainly a thing people say about her.” Among many, many other things, Waverly thought to herself, feeling a bit envious at Wynonna’s ability to cut out of a situation at a moment’s notice. She wished she had that kind of gall, but alas, being the town sweetheart required a bit more finesse.

A quick glance at the clock reminded her exactly how late it was, and she decided it was time to use said finesse to get out of there as quickly, yet politely as possible, because she could still really use a drink.

*****

“Do you ever feel like something’s missing? Like, even when life is pretty great, there’s something just beyond your grasp?” Waverly stirred the drink in front of her, watching the ice cubes swirl around.

Wynonna snapped her fingers in front of Waverly’s face. “Were you drinking at work? Half of one drink is not nearly enough to cause an existential crisis of this level.”

Waverly furrowed her brow as she looked up into Wynonna’s steady gaze. “I would never drink at work.” She answered seriously. She got a swat on her shoulder in response.

“Dude, I know that, lighten up.” Wynonna sipped on her beer, eyeing Waverly as she did so. “What brought this on?”

Waverly sighed, struggling to put into words what she’d been feeling lately. “I don’t know. I love my job. Most of the time.” She amended. “I _love_ my life with you and Alice, getting to be there to watch my niece grow up. I have friends, a social life, the town sweetheart label.” Wynonna gagged at that. “There’s nothing wrong with being nice to people.” She responded dryly.

“Maybe not, but according to you, there _is_ something wrong with your life.”

“No! There’s nothing wrong, per se, there’s just something–”

“Missing.” Wynonna supplied.

Waverly nodded, unsure if she could get any more clear than that.

“When’s the last time you got laid?”

Waverly choked on her drink, spitting an ice cube back into the glass. “Wynonna?!” She hissed, looking around to ensure no one was listening in on their conversation.

For her part, Wynonna did not look like she’d asked a highly inappropriate question. “What? It’s a fair question. Stop freaking out, no one is paying attention, besides Rosita who I know hears _everything._ ” She raised her voice enough to catch the bartender’s attention.

Rosita tossed the towel she was using to wipe down glassware with over her shoulder and moved down until she stood across the bar from them. “What’s the deal?” She asked.

Wynonna pointed at Waverly. “Waves here says she feels like something is missing, but she can’t quite put her finger on it. So I naturally asked when the last time she got laid was.”

“Ah.” Rosita responded evenly, looking at Waverly expectantly like a barkeep with an ear available for problems.

“Wait.” Waverly looked between the two of them. “Are you serious?” She scoffed. “I’m not feeling out of sorts because I haven’t gotten my rocks off recently. I’m perfectly capable of finding someone for that when I need to. Give me a little credit.”

“Says the girl who let Champ Hardy help her get said rocks off more than once. He is so far beneath you.” Wynonna gagged.

Waverly pushed her tongue into her cheek. “Hey, sometimes you just need a warm body underneath you, if you know what I’m saying?”

“Gross.” Rosita and Wynonna responded at the same time.

“Et tu, Brutus?” Waverly raised her glass to Rosita, who held her hands up in apology.

“Look, girlfriend, it ain’t no thang if a girl wants to use whatever body is available to take care of business. I’m just saying, you could do better in that department.”

Waverly gestured around the room with her glass. “It’s not like Purgatory is exactly crawling with a ton of quality options.”

“I suppose that’s true.” Rosita admitted, her eyes darting to the door taking in whatever new clientele had entered. “Although, you just never know when one might come strolling along.”

Waverly and Wynonna spun on the stools to see what held Rosita’s attention, and Waverly found herself choking on her drink for the second time in an alarmingly short period of time.

“Well fancy running into you here.” Doc greeted them as he took the two steps down to the bar area, pulling off his hat. Nicole was on his heels, a tentative smile on her lips.

Recovered from her drinking woes, Waverly greeted them. “Doc. Nicole.” She caught the way Nicole’s lips quirked again. She was curious about the action, for reasons she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “I don’t think we’ve ever seen you in here before.” She realized what the statement might sound like and pushed on to try to smooth it over. “Not that we’re in here a lot. Wouldn’t want to give a bad impression to the parents of my students, you know? A normal amount of drinking is how we roll.”

Wynonna clinked her glass to Waverly’s. “Cheers to that incredibly weird tangent.”

Luckily, Rosita interjected, asking for their drink orders the way a bartender is want to do. While they waited for their drinks, Doc and Wynonna started talking about their favorite whiskeys, which also kind of looked like arguing, but hey, Waverly knew how passionate her sister was when it came to brown liquor.

Nicole rested her forearms on the edge of the bar next to Waverly, looking around. “Never been in this place. Which, incidentally, is why you’ve never seen us here.” She rolled her lips in, her eyes dancing in a way that said she was amused by Waverly’s prior little run on.

“Wow. Shorty’s is like, an institution in this town. At least half the town gossip is generated right from this very place.” Waverly knocked on the bar, noting the curious gazes the locals were throwing their way. “Which, given the looks we’re getting, you and Doc might find yourselves at the center of soon. Curiosity about the newcomers and all.”

Nicole chuckled. “Yeah, I noticed. Hazard of moving to a small town area. Not my first rodeo with that, though, so I think I can take it. Hopefully some of their curiosity takes them out to the farm in the next few weeks to a buy a tree.” She nodded as Rosita slid her beer in front of her, reaching for her back pocket, but Waverly placed a gentle hand on her arm.

“I’ve got it. Least I can do for my newest volunteers.”

Nicole hesitated for just a moment, her eyes flickering down to Waverly’s hand pulling away from her arm before she relented with a nod. “Plying your workers with alcohol? I think Doc is going to be singing a very happy tune about this arrangement.” One side of her mouth pulled up into a smile before she took a sip of her beer.

“How is business?” Waverly asked, genuinely curious. She spun her stool to face Nicole better. It put them close, maybe closer than Waverly intended, but she thought it would draw more attention to the fact if she moved again to put more space in between them. But it didn’t seem to bother Nicole. She turned herself more towards Waverly, leaning a single elbow on the bar and using her other hand to run her fingers through her hair as she spoke.

“It’s been pretty good, picking up a little more each day. We’re preparing for the onslaught this weekend. Three weeks out seems to be when everyone comes out of the woodwork for a tree. Pun intended.” She smiled.

“Pun accepted.” Waverly lifted her glass a bit in acknowledgement. “So how come I haven’t seen you around until now? You bought the place before last Christmas, didn’t you?” Nicole froze with her glass halfway to her lips, the question clear on her face. “Small town, remember? Word moved around in less than a day that the Millers sold their farm. Probably for the best, given what I heard over the last couple years.”

“And yet you thought Doc was the owner?” Nicole teased.

Waverly felt a tinge of heat in her cheeks as she shrugged it off. Shrugged. “I hear the gossip, but I don’t really get involved in it, easy to miss the details sometimes.”

“Fair enough.” Nicole nodded, pushing her lips out in thought as she rolled the pint glass in her hands. “The farm was in pretty rough shape, so that took up all of my focus the first couple months. Then came the Christmas season, and that was rocking. After we recovered, I was figuring out the set-up, seeing what we could improve on for this year, really honing my vision for the place.” She had a far-off look on her face, and Waverly suspected she could see that vision as they spoke. It seemed like the vision might be rather picturesque, or maybe that was just Nicole’s face in general, hard for Waverly to discern. When her smile stretched wide and her dimples deepened Waverly decided it was definitely her face. “Do you have your tree yet?”

“Hmm?” Waverly asked, inexplicably finding herself not up to date in the conversation. Luckily, Nicole didn’t seem fazed by it.

“Your Christmas tree, do you have it yet? Assuming you celebrate Christmas, of course.” She added.

“Oh, we do, and no, we don’t.”

Nicole furrowed her brow. “You have a Christmas tree, but you don’t celebrate Christmas? Or you do celebrate it, but you don’t have a tree yet?”

“That one.” Waverly pointed at her. “We are woefully treeless at the moment, but inclined to get our holiday fa la la on.”

The corners of Nicole’s lips quirked up again, and Waverly decided she liked the reaction. “ _We_ as in you and your boyfriend or husband? Or do you have roommates?” Nicole asked, eyes looking out across the bar as she took another sip from her beer.

Waverly snorted. “Oh, I have roommates, alright.” For the first time in the last few minutes she was aware of Wynonna and Doc next to them. She jerked her head in their direction. “This one and a far too precocious seven year old niece keep me on my toes.”

“Ah. So you live with your sister and niece.”

“Mhmm. Nary a boyfriend or husband in sight at the moment.” Waverly wasn’t exactly sure why she felt the need to make that clear, but the way Nicole visibly swallowed at the statement was fascinating.

Her eyes were off looking across the bar again as she finished her beer. “Well, you guys should come by, check out what we have going on. Maybe you’ll find a tree.”

Waverly nodded at the invite. At its core, it was a business owner inviting customers, yet somehow, it felt kind of sweet.

“You are the most stubborn mule I have ever met!” Waverly flinched at Doc’s raised voice behind them. She spun in her chair to watch the exchange.

“Impossible, surely you’ve looked in a mirror before.” Wynonna bit back. They stared at each other, jaws tense as the seconds ticked by. Finally, they both broke out into laughter. They clinked their now empty glasses together. “To being a couple of stubborn assholes.” Wynonna said.

Waverly shook her head, perpetually at a loss for the way Wynonna interacted with the world.

“Can we interest you ladies in another round and a game of pool?” Doc asked. Waverly looked down at the watch on her wrist, noting the time. Wynonna saved her the trouble of the decline, jerking a thumb in her direction.

“This one has a strict one drink limit on weeknights. Apparently it’s an unfortunate requirement when you have to be up early to deal with a horde of trolls every day.”

“Wynonna, you birthed one of those trolls.” Waverly reminded her.

“Yeah, but at least my troll is cool. Let’s you sleep in on the weekend.” She tilted her empty glass towards Doc. “We’ll take a rain check though.”

“Fair enough.” Doc told her as he slid his empty glass onto the bar and signaled to Rosita he and Nicole would take another round.

Waverly settled up with Rosita when she came back with the drinks. Something that felt vaguely like disappointment tugged at her gut as she gathered her jacket and purse and prepared to say goodbye. She shook it off as a symptom of a long, draining day.

“Hey.” Waverly snagged Nicole’s attention before she left. “Thanks for the invite, I think we might pop by some time.” She’d have to talk to Wynonna about it of course, but considering she’d been complaining about the Charlie Brown trees at the Civic Club tree lot the last couple years, she figured it wouldn’t be a hard sell.

The smile Nicole gave her was slow, and god, Waverly thought, those dimples really were something. “Sounds good. See you Wednesday, right?”

Waverly nodded, confirming the plans they made earlier to start set construction. She gave a small wave goodbye and watched as Nicole followed Doc over to the pool table.

“Hey, Waverly.” Rosita caught her attention as she wrapped her scarf around her neck in a pointless attempt to ward off the cold outside. “Keep your eyes open. For that thing that’s missing? You never know when you’re going to find it.” She turned her attention to wiping down the bar and clearing their glasses, apparently done imparting her cryptic wisdom for the evening.

It was a weird segue, and one Waverly wondered about for more than a few minutes after leaving the bar that night.

 


	2. The Fall

A variety of sounds echoed throughout the auditorium as wood clattered together and tools were unpacked. Waverly figured she better get used to it, they were in for at least a few nights of set construction before they could move on to decorating and painting.

A whistle sounded from one of the doorways. “Reporting for volunteer set building duty, ma’am.” Xavier Dolls, the school gym teacher, marched to Waverly, hands held behind his back as he came to a stop in front of her.

Waverly rolled her eyes but the grin on her face conveyed nothing but affection. She liked Dolls. When Nedley told her he volunteered him to help, she was happy with the decision. “You don’t have to do the whole military man thing here, Dolls, it’s volunteer set building.

“Yeah, well, nothing wrong with a littler order, no matter what the task is.” He told her in his monotone. He wasn’t cold, Waverly could never say that, she enjoyed him too much, but he did have a tendency to be very serious, and that extended to his gym classes.

“Hmm, okay then, we’ll keep it tight, like you run dodgeball classes.” She winked at him. “Thanks for helping out with this, by the way. That’s really solid of you.” She reached out and gave the whistle hanging around his neck a little tug.

“Don’t tell anyone Earp, but I actually kind of like you. It’s better if Nedley thinks this is some sort of torture for me, though. Gets me bonus points.” He gave on of his rare smiles, his eyes drifting off towards the stage. Waverly didn’t need to look to know where his attention had moved to. Wynonna was on stage attempting to unravel the cords on the power tools, but Waverly would bet money she was actually making it worse. “I better give her a hand before she breaks something.” He inclined his head towards stage, sauntering off before Waverly could respond.

“Yep, those bonus points and a fond affection for me, that’s definitely why you’re here.” She muttered as she watched him go.

“Are you talking to yourself?” Jeremy asked, suddenly appearing at her side.

Waverly startled at the unexpected interruption, pressing a hand flat against her heart. “Shit! Please don’t scare me like that, I’ll have a heart attack and die. Then the play will turn out terrible, everyone will blame me, and I’ll feel guilty about it from beyond the grave.”

Jeremy’s eyebrows raised into his hairline. “O-kay, that was a weird reaction.” He waved a finger up and down at her. “What’s going on with that?”

“Nothing.” She answered quickly. Too quickly, if his look was anything to go by. She blew out a breath, making sure to sound calm, which only lasted until she got through her first sentence. “I’m just really stressed about all of this. It’s my first year being in charge of this, and I really want to make a good impression. Curtis must have been a wizard of some sort, because this list is a mile long, and I’m not sure how we’re going to get the construction part done before rehearsals need to start.” She waved the piece of paper in her hand in Jeremy’s face, as if it might better explain her nerves.

“Hey.” Jeremy interjected before she could gain more steam and ramble off into the next dimension. He grabbed her by the shoulders and gave gentle squeeze. “First off, breathe. Curtis was not a wizard, I would know, I’m kind of an expert in that field. Yes, D&D counts.” He smiled at Waverly’s predicted glare. “Look at how many people you have helping out. We’re going to it done, and it’s going to be the best holiday spectacular this podunk town has ever seen, okay?” He let go of her when she nodded. “I can always see if Robin can help out too, if it turns out we need another set of hands.”

“Oh, we remember we have a boyfriend today, do we?” Waverly teased.

“Haha, funny. I never forgot.” Jeremy’s eyes wandered to Doc and Nicole, who were stacking plywood on the stage. Which apparently couldn't be done without causing an exceptionally loud ruckus.

They were dressed somewhat similarly today. Both in jeans and flannel again, Doc’s red and black, Nicole’s brown and white. Nicole had her shirt sleeves rolled up again, and Waverly was starting to suspect they might wind up that way more often than not. She and Doc had on matching tan work gloves that seemed to be a leather-like material, and they both sported tool belts around their waist. They looked ready for work, and Waverly had to admit, all in all, it wasn’t a terrible look. Her head inclined the slightest bit to the side of its own volition as she watched on a moment longer

“It’s not terrible to have the eye candy, huh? What is it about a tool-belt?” Jeremy mused.

What was it indeed? Waverly blinked, embarrassment prickling her skin as she realized she had entered into staring territory. She pointed a finger at him. “No objectifying the help. It’s not cool.”

Jeremy held up his hands in apology. “Of course not. _We_ would never do such a thing.” His emphasis on the word brought heat to her cheeks.

“Well, time to get to work!” She clapped her hands together, moving them along from something she wasn’t in the mood to examine.

Luckily, the next couple hours provided plenty of distraction and hard labor to keep her mind occupied. Well, it was hard labor for her, Wynonna, and Jeremy, but Doc and Nicole moved through their work as if it was the type of thing they did every day.

“We really got a good start to things.” Waverly commented to Nicole as they surveyed the framework for the house, manger, and multiple other pieces they’d constructed.

Nicole finished drinking from her water bottle, licking at her lips as she nodded in apparent satisfaction. “Not bad if I do say so myself.”

“You seemed right at home with a power drill and hammer.” Waverly observed.

“You should see me when I have to set up the framework for all our cut trees. I’m a thing of wonder.” She grinned at Waverly.

Waverly felt her own lips spread into a smile, the din and noise around them seeming to fade. She swore something sparked between them, her stomach doing the tiniest flip in response. It surprised her so much she pressed a hand to her abdomen.

“You okay?” Nicole asked, concern evident on her face.

“Oh, yeah, I’m great.” Waverly removed her hand from her stomach and waved it dismissively. “Just realized how hungry I am.” She peeked at her watch. “And look at that, it’s after eight, no wonder.” She was rambling, she knew she was, but she didn’t seem to be able to stop herself. “I guess I better go rassle up Wynonna if I ever want to get out of here.”

“Okay.” Nicole drew out. She squinted her eyes as if she could see Waverly’s thoughts if she looked hard enough. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She put her hands on her hips, just over her tool belt, which really was not helping matters.

“Yep.” Waverly popped the end of the word. “You still okay to come back Friday night?” She asked, starting her departure by taking a few steps back. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but a retreat felt like the right thing to do.

Nicole nodded. “We’ll be here. I’m leaving Lonnie in charge. Doc thinks that means we’ll return to a burned down tree farm, but, I have faith in him to get through it.”

“Awesome.” Waverly gave a thumbs up, immediately deciding she should cut the offending appendages off. Because seriously, who even gave thumbs up anymore? She managed to extricate herself after the embarrassing display, tossing a few more niceties and her most winning girl next door smile Nicole’s way before she located Wynonna and latched onto her.

“Time to go.” She called out cheerfully, moving her sister towards the door.

Wynonna stumbled to keep up. “Did you start your period and forget products again?”

“No!” Waverly squeaked, thankful they were out of earshot of anyone. “God, that was _one_ time.”

“Yes, but I came up with the genius nickname that is menstruangel at the time, so we must never forget.” Wynonna tugged at her arm, forcing Waverly to stop just outside the school doors. Her smile faded and concern peaked through as she scanned Waverly’s face. “Are you okay? You’re being weird. Why are you weird?”

“I’d be fine if everyone would just stop asking me that!” She marched away towards her Jeep perfectly aware that she was acting like a child, but committed to seeing the entire meltdown through until she got in her car.

“Okay, crazy pants.” Wynonna muttered behind her.

In the moment, Waverly found it difficult to argue with the assessment.

*****

Things went much better Friday night. At least, in Waverly's estimation they did.

She spent more than a few minutes over the last couple days analyzing her overreaction Wednesday night, but came to the conclusion it wasn’t worth that level of scrutiny. She felt a little off this year with the holidays, and was stressing over all the balls she had to juggle. Having a little spark of something she couldn’t quite define with Nicole, who happened to be sweet, and maybe a little attractive (Waverly could admit it), wasn’t a huge deal. She just hadn’t been in the best frame of mind to roll with it.

Well, she could fix that, she thought, rolling her shoulders. From here on out, she would be relaxed Waverly. Things would roll right off, she could handle the unexpected things thrown her way, including hard to define sparks with someone.

She watched on as Nicole used a nail gun to finish putting together some woodwork. She blew on the end of the tool and grinned at Doc when she beat him in finishing her section, and something Waverly could absolutely define moved through her at the little display. She audibly sighed, having had perfectly enough of that, thank you, and threw herself into work, alternating between smaller projects with Jeremy, Wynonna, and Dolls.

“Jeremy, would you happen to know how a man could procure some water around here? I am parched.” Doc asked at one point. Waverly had to swallow her snort as she watched her friend staple his gloved hand to the wood he was holding in reaction.

The moment actually helped calm her. She hadn’t done anything that level of absurd, so clearly she was overreacting to a teeny, tiny moment of spark the other night.

That she’s pretty sure was entirely one-sided.

And probably just temporary.

All the same, she had taken extra care to keep her distance so far, just in case.

“Hey, Waverly, do you think you could give me a hand with this?” Nicole asked from the far wing of the stage, holding a Level and inclining her head towards two pieces of wood she had set at a ninety degree angle.

“Sure.” Waverly said, several steps into her movement before she realized how easily she’d forgotten her plan for distance. Whatever, she was a nice person, a helper, it’s not like she was going to say no. With that settled, she found herself moving from project to project with Nicole for the rest of the next hour. They didn’t talk about it, or make a plan to finish out the work together, it just sort of happened.

Along the way, she realized she might actually just plain like Nicole Haught. She was smart, direct, and when Waverly talked it was clear she was listening. She was funny, too. Not in a joke-telling, belly busting laugh sort of way, but more of a dry, observational humor way. It reminded her just a bit of Wynonna, only without the hard edge and cutting snark. By the time they got to the clean-up portion of the night, Waverly thought they might actually be on their way to a friendship.

“Waves, I gotta peace, promised the munchkin I’d be home to put her to bed tonight.” Wynonna said as she shoved a broom handle into Jeremy’s chest.

“Watch it, I bruise easily.” Jeremy whined.

“I feel sorry for your boyfriend.” She retorted, not bothering to wait on a reaction from him, instead focusing on Waverly again.

“No problem, I won’t be far behind you.”

“I’m not waiting for you to start drinking.” Wynonna said, starting her retreat.

“Don’t open the bubblegum saki I just got, it’s imported and I want to try it first!” Waverly called after her.

“Gross. Also, no promises.”

Waverly huffed out a laugh and shook her head. She knew Wynonna wouldn’t actually open her saki, she just liked to give her a hard time.

Probably.

Nicole’s lips were slanted in amusement at the exchange. “Mind if I ask you something?”

“Go right ahead.” Waverly turned her attention back to sweeping her section of the stage.

“Is the father in the picture at all?”

Waverly stopped sweeping, leaning her weight on the broom handle as she blew a breath up into her bangs. “No. Honestly, Alice was a complete surprise. One-night stand.” Waverly explained. “And before you get your judgy-pants on, she was on birth control. It still happened.”

Nicole held her hands up in defense. “Completely normal, judgement-free pants on over here. I think single-mothers are damn super heros.”

Waverly nodded, satisfied with the response. “She was shocked, and I don’t mind saying she didn’t take it great at first. She did tell rando sperm-donor, but he had no interest in being a father, wanted her to get rid of it.” Waverly shook her head at the memory. “Something about his cavalier attitude, I don’t know, it’s like it flipped a switch in her. She said she needed the baby to know someone damn well wanted it.”

Some sort of understanding took hold in Nicole’s eyes. Waverly was curious about it, but Nicole didn’t give her much time to dwell on it. “How did you wind up living with them?”

Waverly furrowed her brow. She wasn’t used to people to asking her in depth questions like this, except maybe Jeremy, and Wynonna in more recent years. Her first inclination was to give a quick, peppy answer about being the world’s best Auntie, but something in Nicole’s soft but intent gaze made her feel comfortable. She swallowed, her voice lowering just a hint. “Wynonna is the only family that ever cared enough about me to stick around. After Daddy died my Senior year, she moved back to the family home so I could stay in school here. When she had Alice, it was my turn to move back. We’re a team.” She shrugged at the end, as if what she divulged was a casual story, and not one of the most important truths in her life.

She expected to find pity on Nicole’s face, but instead she found something that made her stomach somersault. It was respect, maybe a touch of admiration. There was something else, too, but Waverly couldn’t quite place it. She was pretty sure no one had ever looked at her in such a way.

“Well, I know I haven’t known y’all very long, but if it counts for anything, I think the Earp sisters make a pretty badass team.” Her smile was small but so, _so_ warm.

Waverly was distantly aware of giving thanks for the compliment, but she was stuck on Nicole’s eyes, still holding there.

“Are you ladies about done here?” Doc’s voice came crashing through the moment like a wrecking ball.

Waverly stared at him as if he was an unexplained intrusion, taking more time than she’d care to admit to remember they were still in the auditorium with other people around.

Nicole ran a hand through her hair, the slightest hint of pink on her cheeks. “Yeah, I think we’re good.” She glanced at Waverly, her eyes cutting away again quickly. “Do you want to text me the details for painting and finish work?”

Waverly found it disorienting how quickly the moment had changed, and Nicole’s demeanor along with it. “Uh, yeah, I can do that.”

“Great.” Nicole nodded, giving a quick smile that lacked the warmth of her previous one.

Waverly missed the warmth. She was surprised by the thought, but even more surprised by the strange feeling that a moment of connection had slipped through her fingers.

She took her time shutting off the auditorium lights after Nicole and Doc departed, mulling things over. On her walk to the car an explanation came to her. It had been quite some time, if ever, that someone had listened to her as intently as Nicole had. Maybe that was driving the strange mixture of feelings she was experiencing of late.

She drove home to the echo of that sentiment.

_Maybe._

*****

“Munchkin, I swear to Oscar the Grouch, if you don’t stop bouncing that ball in the house, Santa is going to put you on the naughty list.”

“But Mama, I’m booooooored.”

Waverly smiled at the scene she heard unfolding behind her in the living room. The sound of the bouncy ball in the other room (which Waverly had no idea how Alice had obtained, none at all), hadn’t really bothered her, more providing a tempo for her writing as she tried desperately to finish the Christmas cards before the Mailman arrive. But she could understand where Wynonna was coming from.

“Bored? Let Mamma tell you what actual boredom is, it’s–”

“I know Mama, it’s growing up with a horse girl for an older sister while your younger sister is too little to make trouble with. But I don’t have _any_ sisters to do anything with, so...” The ball bounced again.

Waverly could actually hear Wynonna’s mouth open and close from the other room. She stifled her chuckle, not wanting to get roped into the middle of things. The sound of crunching tires outside caught her attention. “Oh no.” she muttered, hastily sealing the final envelope and slapping a stamp on it. She had one arm in a sweater, her feet partially jammed into boots she realized too late were Wynonna’s, as she ran down the driveway to meet the mailman before he left.

“Eddie!” She called to grab his attention.

“Hey Waverly.” He eyed the state of her outfit. “Everything okay?”

She handed over her stack of envelopes. “I didn’t want to miss you today, I can’t have my Christmas cards going out late!”

He laughed good naturedly. “You do know there’s still two weeks left, right?”

“I know, but I like to get them out with enough time for people to know I thought of them, and they weren’t just a last minute item on my to do list, you know?”

“That I do.” He put the stack into his inbound box in passenger seat of the mail truck. “Now that you have the card part done, you all ready for Christmas?”

Waverly wrapped her arms around her middle in effort to ward off the chill. As much as she loved Christmas, and living somewhere with actual seasons, she _hated_ the cold. “We haven’t even started decorating yet, to be honest. It’s been so crazy at school, and Wynonna’s so busy at the fire station.” Even though the confession was just part of small talk with the Mailman, she felt guilty in a way.

He gave a sympathetic smile. “This time of year is jam-packed, it’s okay. Just make sure to enjoy yourself. ‘Tis the season for family and love and maybe, just a touch of magic.” He winked at her. “Sometimes, those things come together.”

Waverly nodded, not pondering too much on his words. She liked Eddie, he was a good Mailman, but he was prone to random poetic waxing.

He gave her a salute, putting the mail truck in drive. “Hey,” He called just as she turned away. “If you’re in need of a tree, you should check out Haught’s Tree Farm. I took the family there last weekend to pick ours out, had a great experience.”

She stared after him as he drove away. Seriously? She made it through the entire Christmas Card task this morning without thinking about Nicole, and he really had to go and ruin it? She let out a frustrated sigh, the winter breeze spurring her into movement again towards the warmth of the house.

Wynonna threw the door open before Waverly had her hand on the knob. “Please help.”

She wasn’t consciously aware of the words that came spilling out of her mouth before her brain could catch up. “Wanna go get our Christmas tree?”

*****

Jeremy and Robin were waiting for them as they pulled into the parking lot. Jeremy blew into his hands as Robin gave a happy wave.

“I can’t believe you invited them along. They’re wearing matching outfits for, freak sake.”

“Wynonna.” Waverly warned, hearing Alice giggle in the back seat. Yeah, that one was definitely getting repeated, probably at the most inopportune time.

“Mom, Robin is in orange and Jeremy is in Blue, that doesn’t match.”

“Nothing gets past you, kid.” Wynonna reached her hand into the back seat for a high five.

Waverly was thankful for the layers and scarf she piled on before leaving the house. Even though it was sunny and clear, the chill in the air was crisp. Wynonna barely had Alice’s winter hat tugged down to her ears before she scrambled off in the direction of pointed tree tops propped up in rows against wood framework, strings of clear lights criss-crossing along over the top of them.

“Let’s go see the tree lady.” Wynonna said to Waverly.

“The tree lady?”

“Nicole, your new best bud, the tree lady. All accurate descriptors.” Wynonna ticked off on her fingers, arching an eyebrow in challenge.

Alice saved Waverly from the necessity of a response, yelling out to them from where she was hopping up and down at the end of the first row of trees in excitement. “Come on slow-pokes!” She was joined by Robin and Jeremy, whose smiles were adorable and kid-like. The whole thing was infectious enough to lift Waverly’s spirits.

She followed the beckoning towards the row of trees, taking in her surroundings along the way. A chalkboard sign stood just before the trees, beckoning visitors to join them for a visit from Santa on Sunday from Noon until Two for pictures and hot apple cider. Someone had drawn little decorative adornments all around the board, the bottom right corner showing a steaming mug that Waverly assumed was the advertised cider. She idly wondered if Nicole had done the artwork herself. She eyed the barn beyond the trees for sale. It’s wide front doors were open, revealing a counter for customers to pay at, wooden racks of wreaths and mistletoe bundles flanking it. The bulbs lighting the barn were exposed, giving a warm, rustic feel to the whole thing.

Waverly knew the farm was comprised of multiple acres, and the land that stretched out around them was picturesque. In one direction was a large, sloping hill that made its way up to a tree line; in the other, a cute one and half story cabin she knew the previous owners had occupied. She assumed Nicole now made her home there as well, if the shoveled off porch and pair of boots next to the front door were anything to go by.

She liked it here. There was a warmness to the place that could be felt even in the winter chill.

Alice reached for her hand, tugging her completely into the trees to help in the search for the perfect Earp Christmas tree. When they made the turn into the third row of trees there Nicole was, knelt in front of a small boy, his parents standing behind him watching the interaction. Waverly stopped in her tracks at the sight, Alice looking back at her in question. She inclined her head silently towards the group in front of them, indicating she didn’t want to interrupt the moment. Alice caught her meaning, deciding to take a closer look at the trees around them while they waited.

The boy who held Nicole’s attention couldn’t have been more than four. His chubby cheeks were pink from the chill, his smile big as Nicole handed him the tag from a tree. “You see that man there?” She pointed at Doc, visible down at the opposite end of their row. “You give him this tag and he’ll give your tree a fresh cut so it can soak up the water better once you get it home.” Her instructions were clearly meant for the parents, but she kept her attention fixed on the boy. “After that, you can go pay the man behind the counter in the barn, and you’re on your way home to decorate. Got all that?” She asked. The boy shook his head solemnly, ready to carry out the list of tasks. “I’m gonna hang BB-8 on the tree first.” He tells her, and the smile that stretches across Nicole’s face is breath-taking. “I have a BB-8 for my tree too.” She tells him conspiratorially.

She must have sensed an audience then, because she turned her head, catching Waverly’s eyes for the briefest of moments. The smile on her face remained wide, and Waverly felt a warmth move through her at the whole display.

Nicole returned her attention to the young boy and his parents again, inclining her head towards Waverly and Alice. “I have some friends here in need of some assistance finding a tree of their own, but let me know if you need anything else, okay?”

She stood and took the hand the father held out to her for a shake. “Thanks for making this such a great experience. He can be really particular, but your patience was amazing.”

“It was my pleasure, he’s an absolute joy.” She told him. “Hope to see you again next year. There’s a rumor we might have sledding and sleigh rides by then.” She winked at the little boy before making her way to Waverly and Alice, her eyes moving beyond them as she approached. “You brought a crew with you to find the perfect Christmas tree, huh? Brilliant tactic.” She addressed the comment to Alice with a grin, but her eyes flitted to Waverly briefly.

Waverly turned her head, surprised to find that Wynonna, Jeremy and Robin had joined them, and further surprised by her surprise. She recovered from it quickly enough to make introductions. “You already know Wynonna and Jeremy.” Nicole gave them a small wave. “This is Jeremy’s boyfriend, Robin.” Nicole’s smile deepened as she extended a hand to him for a shake. “And this is my best buddy, Alice.” Waverly swung their joined hands up to make the point. “Alice, this is our friend, Nicole.” Waverly caught it again, the subtle reaction on Nicole’s face when she said her name. “She owns the farm, and we’re going to buy our tree from her.”

“It’s nice to meet you Alice.” Nicole said, extending a hand to her as well. Alice dropped Waverly’s hand like a rock to shake it, which Waverly tried not to be insulted by. She actually couldn’t blame the kid, Nicole had a way about her. “Now tell me, what are you necessary requirements in a Christmas tree?”

Alice thought on it for a moment, her eyes drifting up to the sky.

“Not a Charlie Brown tree.” Wynonna interjected, causing Alice to roll her eyes and twist herself to look at her. “Of course not, Mama, then we wouldn’t have enough branches to hang all our ornaments.” She twisted back to Nicole with a look on her face like she couldn’t believe her mom even needed to say such a thing. Nicole was clearly fighting a laugh, but managed to hold it back.

“It needs to be tall, but not too tall so it doesn’t hit the ceiling. And I want it to be wide.” She stretched out her arms fully on both sides. “And really green.”

Nicole nodded, mulling over the specifications. “Those are excellent requirements. I think we definitely have what you’re looking for.”

Alice nodded solemnly. “I probably could have found the perfect one already, but these guys are holding me back.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder at her adult entourage.

“Who brought this kid?” Wynonna muttered.

“You did, Mama.” Alice responded matter of factly.

Nicole did laugh at that. “Don’t let me hold you up, get to finding the perfect tree.” She stepped aside to clear the path down the aisle.

“Come on, everyone.” Alice grabbed Wynonna’s hand this time, pulling her down the aisle. Jeremy gave Nicole a casual greeting, screwing his face up as if to say ‘Kids, am I right?’ before following along.

Robin stayed put for a moment, eyeing Nicole. “I’ve seen you before. Where have I seen you before?”

“Spend a lot of time in the woods?” Nicole asked, sliding her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

Robin pulled a face. “Not really my style. I tried being a volunteer Ranger one summer in high-school, and let’s just say, it didn’t go too well, for me or for mother nature.” Nicole laughed and something appeared to click in Robin’s memory. He snapped and clapped his hands together. “Mama June’s, next town over. You ever been there?”

“Last month.” Nicole told him.

“Ah ha, got it. Was there a great Jazz trio playing that night? Did some amazing Free Jazz style in the middle of their set?”

Nicole nodded. “Yep, I was there for that.” She winced a little in apology. “I have to be upfront and tell you it wasn’t my preferred taste. I do like live music, though.”

Robin waved a dismissive hand, smiling wide at the response. “That’s okay. The avant-garde style really isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But if you like live music, we should meet up sometime for a drink, when something more your speed is playing.”

“Sounds fun.” Nicole’s tone was casual but kind, like she wasn’t opposed to the idea  but didn’t necessarily think it would happen.

“I think I like you, Nicole.” Robin pointed at her with a grin. “I’ll be in touch.” With that he was off to join the tree hunting brigade.

Nicole stared after him until he rounded the corner into another row. “You run with nice people.”

Waverly chuckled at that. “Get to know us better, you’ll find out we’re all a bunch of assholes.”

“I doubt that.” Nicole murmured, taking her time meeting Waverly’s gaze. Once she got there she squinted in thought. “Except maybe for Wynonna. No offense.”

“None taken, she’d be the first to admit it. Although there’s definitely a lovable aspect to it.” Waverly told her.

“Those are the best kinds of assholes.” Nicole looked around, taking stock of the people meandering through the trees, making sure no one was in need of assistance.

“I really like it here. You have a good vibe going on.” Waverly told her, taking another look around herself.

“Thanks.” Nicole smiled, happiness at the comment evident in her eyes. “It’s a work in progress, but I feel like we’ve already leveled up from last year, and I have a lot more ideas I want to try out.”

It was clear she was proud of the work she put in, and Waverly found the feeling rather infectious. She tilted her head in the direction of the cabin. “And how are you finding the living accommodations?”

“Good. Comfortable.” Nicole responded, nodding absently as her focus drifted somewhere else. “Feels like somewhere I can make a real home.” The last part was said low, almost like an afterthought she hadn’t intended to share. There was something behind it, Waverly was sure. Nicole’s brows furrowed as she seemed to shake herself out of wherever she had gone. She took another survey of the customers milling around. “Well, I don’t want to keep you from your lovable band of assholes and the quest for the perfect Christmas tree.”

Waverly blinked. Right, that was the whole reason for the visit. Except, she was perfectly content right here, in Nicole’s company. It felt disconcerting, but also warm and easy at the same time. When Nicole looked around the lot again Waverly felt like a selfish jerk for monopolizing so much of her time. “Yeah, I’d hate to have them pick something without me there. We all agree I have the best taste in trees.” She tried for light and casual as she backed away. She may not have succeeded, if the way Nicole scrutinized her was anything to go by.

“Let me know if you need any help or have any questions.” Nicole called after her.

Waverly gave her a salute. “Aye, aye.” She turned and walked away before the idiocy of her response could set in. Because, really? That was her parting shot? God, she was so uncool sometimes.

She was saved from further self-flagellation when Alice skipped up to her. “Come on, we found some good trees, and I think Mama and Jeremy might get into a real fight over which one they think is better.”

That is exactly what she found when they joined the group, but Waverly’s presence seemed to temper the tension. It took a few more laps around the rows before they settled on what Alice deemed to be the perfect tree. Her opinion is the one that mattered most, after all.

They found Doc to pull the tree out of the maze of rows. Waverly to bite the inside of her cheek when Jeremy tried to casually introduce Robin to Doc, his voice breaking into a squeak at one point. Judging by the look Robin shot him, he found the whole thing more adorable and funny than threatening.

“She’s a mighty fine choice.” Doc said to Alice with a twinkle in his eye once they were back to the area where he had saw horses and a chainsaw set up, sawdust littering the ground around the area.

“I don’t think trees have a gender.” Alice told him flatly.

He stared at her, as if unsure how to proceed with the conversation after such a statement. “Want to watch me use a chainsaw?” He settled on, the tiniest hint of desperation in his voice.

Alice’s eyes went big in wonder. “Yeah!”

Waverly laid a hand on her shoulder to gently keep her at a safe distance while Doc went to work, cutting a few inches of the trunk off. “That is so cool.” Alice whispered after he’d finished. “I’m going use one of those some day.”

“They are pretty fun.” The hair on the back of Waverly’s neck stood up at the sound of Nicole’s voice close behind her. Even after Nicole stepped into view her senses didn’t seem able to relax. Not cool.

“But only with proper safety gear and taking all the necessary precautions to stay safe.” Nicole added with a serious look, trying to convey to Alice the importance of those steps.

Waverly couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face. Nicole was cute with kids, how she talked to them in a more adult way than most.

Alice nodded, her brows furrowed as she absorbed the words. She looked to Waverly. “I like her.”

Waverly had to agree with the sentiment.

“What vehicle will this lucky tree be riding home on?” Doc asked, saving Waverly from contemplating what other words she would use to describe Nicole.

Wynonna pointed to the parking lot. “Waverly’s Jeep. The red one over yonder.”

“You drive a Jeep Wrangler?” Nicole asked, her voice colored with surprise.

Waverly didn’t really understand the tone. “Yeah, it’s my baby.” She narrowed her eyes. “You sound like that’s weird. Why is it weird?” She might be crazy, or it could be the cold, but Waverly swore a light blush crept up Nicole’s cheeks.

“It’s not weird. I’m a huge fan of Wranglers, drove one for a couple years after college. It just isn’t the first car I would picture you driving.”

The idea that Nicole Haught would picture anything that involved her caused a momentary distraction, but then the actual statement hit her. “Why?” She asked, her eyebrows furrowing together.

Nicole licked her lips. She was clearly searching for the right words, though Waverly couldn’t fathom what they might be.

“Because it’s kind of gay.” Wynonna piped up from next to them. Waverly had honestly forgot she was still standing there. She winked at Waverly before wiggling her eyebrows at Nicole and walking off.

A real blush crawled up Nicole’s face then, and Waverly was positive the heat she felt in her own face meant the same thing was happening to her. “I-that’s not-” Nicole stumbled over her words. Waverly had never seen Nicole this flustered, it would have been an amusing sight, if she wasn’t feeling so flustered herself.

They looked around, avoiding each other’s eyes for a beat too long before Waverly decided to take control and cut the tension. “The lovable part sometimes takes a hiatus, but, told you, asshole.” She jerked her head to Wynonna’s retreating form.

Nicole looked relieved at the redirection. “Charming.” She chuckled.

“She can be, when she wants.” Waverly sighed out. “But today is not that day.” She took a breath, trying to put herself back in a light and cheery kind of place. “Thanks for everything, Nicole.” That reaction was there again, flitting across Nicole’s face as her eyes cut back to her, and for half a second Waverly almost asked about it. Considering the amount of awkwardness they just experienced, she discarded the idea.

“Thanks for stopping by. Glad you guys found a tree that meets Alice’s criteria.” Her tone was teasing but her smile was genuine.

It was a smile that probably helped her sell a lot of trees, Waverly thought as she marched towards her Jeep and her very much on a shit list sister. She took the time to thank Doc and give him a nice smile and wave for securing the tree to the roof before wheeling on Wynonna.

“You are on my S-H-I-T list, Wynonna.” She got out through gritted teeth.

“Waves, the kid is seven, not two, she knows what you just spelled.” Wynonna pointed at Alice, who was standing next to her.

“Mama says I can’t say that word until I’m a surly teen, so don’t worry, I won’t repeat it.” Alice reassured her.

Waverly huffed out a sigh, feeling her annoyance fade. “Thanks kid.” She waited until Alice climbed into the backseat of the car to give Wynonna a semi-apologetic look. “Sorry, I’m just in a weird headspace.”

“Don’t worry about it, baby girl.” Wynonna reassured her, her eyes holding enough concern to be visible.

The back window of the Jeep rolled down enough to reveal Alice’s impatient face. “Let’s gooooo, it’s cold.”

“Wow, she’s bossy.” Wynonna muttered to Waverly, nevertheless moving around the front of the Jeep to adhere to the command.

“Hey, she’s your kid.” Waverly reminded her. She smiled as she climbed into the Jeep, pointedly ignoring the middle-finger shot her way.

*****

“Some of you will treat this like just another game of kickball. But remember, glory is on the line.”

Dolls kept his eyes fixed on the kids lined up before him as he strolled down to the end, spinning on his heel when he reached the end of the line to make his way back to the other end, his hands clasped behind his back the whole way. “Your parents think they have this game in the bag, but we’re going to show them what we’re made of come Parent/Kid Fun Night. Our practice here today was good, but let’s not lose mental focus when leave here.” He stopped, making eye contact with each of the single-digit aged children standing before him. He reached for the whistle hanging around his neck and gave it a quick blow to dismiss the students.

Waverly was both impressed and amused at the way the kids disbursed with an air of determination. She pushed off from the wall she was leaning against at the back of the gym to go talk to him. “Well that was quite the inspirational speech, General.”

The smile that spread across Dolls’ face would alarm a few people used to his mostly serious demeanor, but Waverly was one of the few that got a semi-regular glimpse of it. “I take the annual kickball game very seriously.”

“You’re not the only one. Remember the way Wynonna had a meltdown last year when I called her out at home base? There was discord in the Earp household for days.” She grimaced.

“Plate.” Dolls corrected her. “It’s generally referred to as home plate, not base.”

Waverly waved a dismissive hand. “Base, plate, who can keep track of it all?” She ignored the way he squinted at her. “Anyway, I wanted to drop by to make sure you’re coming to Christmas Eve Eve dinner.” She gave him her most hopeful look. “Pretty please, say you’re still coming?”

“Is Wynonna going to try cooking food again?” He asked flatly.

“No, I banned her after last year's debacle. She’s strictly on cocktail duty this year.”

Dolls nodded “Then count me in.”

Waverly clapped her hands together in excitement. “It’s going to be great. Good luck with the game tonight, I hope the team scores lots of baskets!” She practically skipped towards a set of gymnasium doors.

“Hey, Earp.” Dolls called after her. “For the record, I still would have come even you told me Wynonna was cooking. And, uh, you should maybe brush up on your sports lingo.” He shot her a rare wink.

Waverly held her hands over her heart in appreciation before she left him to set up for the basketball game he was coaching later.

The interaction lifted her spirits even higher. It was a week and a half out from Christmas, and she was really starting to feel the festive spirit. Her next stops of the afternoon were to Jeremy’s classroom and Principal Nedley’s office, to make sure they were still coming for dinner as well. It was something she started two years ago, having people over before the craziness of Christmas Eve and Day kicked off. The guest list was decided by her friendships, or, in Nedley’s case, her knowledge that he would be alone until his daughter arrived late on Christmas Eve.

After getting two more affirmative responses, the rest of the day flew by. Rehearsal for the Holiday Spectacular was like herding cats, the energy level of the kids ratcheting up each day Christmas drew nearer. By the time everyone cleared out she was exhausted. She flopped down into one of the folding auditorium chairs, leaning her head back and closing her eyes, knowing she still had a couple hours to go before calling it a night.

“Rough day?”

Waverly noted the way her mouth wanted to pull up into a huge smile at the sound of Nicole’s voice. It was apparently an involuntary reaction that was cementing itself the more they spent together. “The kids are ready to climb the walls, and there’s still a week left before this stupid show.”

Nicole’s eyes went soft with sympathy as she set the box in her arms on the stage and shed her jacket. “That sounds super exhausting, but, I think maybe you don’t actually see it as stupid?”

Waverly dropped her head back again. “You’re right, I don’t. But I’m sleeping for like a week once Christmas is over, underneath a pile of blankets, and no one can stop me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Nicole levelled her with a humoring glance before unpacking the box, pulling out paint cans and brushes and various other supplies. She looked around. “Where’s everyone else?”

“There’s a basketball game tonight, so Dolls is busy with that. It’s Jeremy and Robin’s date-a-versary, so they’re celebrating. Wynonna was supposed to be here, but she texted a little while ago, saying a work thing came up. Which, I’m _pretty_ sure means she’s actually schtooping her co-worker guy, Charlie what’s-his-name, but I don’t really want to think about that.” She waved a hand as if to erase the whole thing. “Doc?” She asked Nicole.

Nicole shook her head. “I had to leave him in charge at the farm.” Waverly tried to ignore the flutter of excitement in her stomach at the idea of just the two of them working together tonight. “Lonnie is an okay worker, but not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to problem solving, so I didn’t want to leave him alone when we’re this busy.”

The tiny bit of excitement was extinguished as concern took over. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think of how busy you are right now when I picked tonight for the painting. I can do it myself if you need to get back?”

Nicole tilted her head, a ghost of a smile forming, as if she’d just heard something amusing. “It’s okay, I want to help. Besides, the guys can handle it, it’s just selling trees.” She shrugged like it was no big deal, but to Waverly, it was.

“Thanks, Nicole.” She told her sincerely. The reaction was there on Nicole’s face again, appearing and leaving in an instant, but the same each time. Apparently Waverly didn’t have the restraint to keep ignoring it, the question coming out before she could think better. “Am I pronouncing your name wrong or something?”

Nicole laughed, looking as puzzled as Waverly had ever seen her. “What? No, I don’t think it’s possible to pronounce it wrong. Why?” She started rolling up her sleeves, her eyes flitting back and forth between Waverly and the task.

“It’s just that, your face seems to do this thing whenever I say it. I can’t really explain it, but, there’s some kind of reaction there.” She pointed a finger at Nicole’s face and moved it around in a circle.

Waverly swore Nicole’s hand paused mid-roll, just for a second, but then she was moving again, causing Waverly to question whether it was merely a trick of the light. Nicole’s eyes remained fixed on her sleeve as she spoke. “Huh, weird. It’s not anything I’m aware of.” She said evenly, her eyes finally raising to meet Waverly’s again for the briefest of beats before she turned her attention back to the paint supplies. “Should we get started?”

It felt like a deflection, a change of subject, but Waverly wasn’t sure why. The one thing she was sure of? She didn’t want things to be uncomfortable between them. Her stomach twisted at the very thought. “Yeah, those cardboard candy canes and gingerbread cookies aren’t going to paint themselves.” She joined Nicole in moving past the moment.

It took a few minutes to get everything set up, but soon they were side by side, working through a stack of cutouts that would adorn the stage at different points in the show.

“So Dolls coaches the basketball team? I would have thought grade schoolers would be too unruly for his tastes.” Nicole mused.

Waverly shook her head. “Oh no, not at all. According to him, this is the best age to coach, because he can really drive the fundamentals and skills home. Otherwise, they’ll carry bad habits and sloppy work with them forever.” She intoned, dropping her voice in an imitation of his delivery.

Nicole laughed, concentration fixed on the button of the gingerbread man she was filling in. “He has a point. And that was a pretty good impression.” Her tongue peaked out between her lips as she carefully painted along the line. Waverly absolutely did not stare for a moment before forcing her attention back to her own painting. Nope, not at all.

“So, you and Doc–”

“Oh god, don’t put our names together like that. Sounds like my parents back in high-school when they would get their hopes everytime I even walked by a boy.” Nicole cringed.

Waverly flicked her paint brush in Nicole’s general direction, a few droplets of paint harmlessly falling on the drop cloth between them. Nicole arched an eyebrow at the action. “I was going to say, how did you end up with him working for you?” Waverly clarified.

“Ah, well, believe it or not, that’s a story involving a bottle of whiskey, tons of swearing, and a stubborn mule. A different one from Doc, that is.”.

Waverly stared as she tried to absorb the words. “I think I need to hear this story.”

Nicole’s dimples winked as her smile grew. “As you wish. Prepare for a shit show.”

Waverly listened while they worked, enjoying the sound of Nicole’s voice as she recounted one of the more absurd stories Waverly had ever heard. It occurred to her that in the limited time they’ve known each other, they mostly talked about things related to her. She vowed to get Nicole to talk about herself more. Because that’s what friends do, Waverly thought absently as she stared at Nicole’s hand and the particular way it gripped a paint brush, her fingers exerting capable control over each movement. It sure was something to behold...

“Earth to Waverly.” Waverly yanked her gaze up to meet Nicole’s eyes, sparkling with amusement. “Where did you go?” She asked.

Waverly’s brain scrambled, because ‘Staring at your hands’ didn’t feel like the sort of thing she should disclose, for reasons she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, identify. “I was just noting your technique.” She settled on, keeping her wince internal, because, really?

“My technique? Is there something wrong with it?” Nicole drew her eyebrows together.

Waverly shrugged, a playful smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Oh no, it’s perfectly fine. Kind of reminds me of my students.” The last part was a purposeful jab. Waverly was discovering she kind of liked watching Nicole react to things.

Nicole’s forehead smoothed out as she stared for a second, absorbing the words. “Did you just call me technique _childish_?” Her eyes narrowed as she waited for a response.

“I would never.” Waverly rolled her lips inward to keep from laughing, trying to give a head-shake with a level of levity she did not feel.

“Except you just did.” Nicole responded matter of factly. She waved a hand at the art in front of her. “This is done with masterful technique, I’ll have you know.” She lightly dipped her brush in the Christmas Tree green paint next to her, turning back to Waverly with a playful glint in her eyes. “Childish technique would be more like this.” She zeroed in on Waverly’s face, reaching out to dab Waverly’s nose with the brush before there was time to react. She grinned at her work as she withdrew her hand.

Waverly’s eyes crossed as she took in the blob of green at the end of her nose. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

Nicole shrugged. “Sorry, I’m childish over here, remember?”

Waverly moved before Nicole had the chance to anticipate retaliation, painting a bright red streak across her cheek. “Oops.” She deadpanned.

Nicole reached up in disbelief, touching at the wet smear, which only served to worsen the situation by adding two horizontal patches to the mess. “You’re going to pay for that.” A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, taking the bite out of her declaration.

They both raised their paint brushes in a clear threat for more. A grin spread across Waverly’s face as she sat there, one hand braced against the stage floor, ready for battle. She tried to decide where to strike next, on the lookout for any movement from Nicole. When their eyes met again it occurred to Waverly how close they sat. She felt the strangest sense of gravity overtake her at the knowledge, like an unseen force was pushing her to lean in, get closer to the brown eyes she found so warm that were currently sparkling with happiness and something else Waverly couldn’t quite place. It would be _so_ easy to give in to the gravity...

A loud bang echoed through the auditorium, abruptly interrupting the moment. The murmur of voices voices filled the hallway, and Waverly realized with a start that the basketball game had just let out from the gymnasium. They were both noticeably farther apart from each other than before the interruption, of that Waverly was sure. “The game.” She said absently. It didn’t really need stating, but her brain was still trying to catch up with the moment.

Nicole cleared her throat, looking down at her watch and showing surprise at what she found there. “Wow, I had no idea how late it was..” Her tone was polite, but her body moving with a stiffness that was impossible for Waverly to miss. Nicole took a moment before she looked directly at Waverly again, her face softening when she took in the paint on her nose. “We probably look ridiculous, huh?”

“Speak for yourself. I look awesome.” Waverly attempted to joke, desperate to bring a lightness back to the moment.

Nicole nodded, the corner of her mouth tugging up. “Of course, my mistake.”

They managed to wrap things up rather quickly. Waverly knew it was late, but it felt purposeful, like they both needed to get out of there. If that invoked a feeling of disappointment in her, she wasn’t acknowledging it.

“Night, Mr. Fletcher.” Waverly waved with a small smile as they passed by the night janitor on their way out of the auditorium. He gave them a puzzled look as he took in the paint on their faces. Waverly didn’t really care. Out in the chill of the night she felt her bearings come back again. She spun to a stop before veering towards her Jeep. “So the trees are getting delivered at the beginning of next week?”

Nicole blinked back at her, clearly lost in some sort of thought before Waverly pulled her out of it “Yeah, we’ll bring them at the end of your practice on Monday.”

“Sounds great. Thanks for your help Nicole.” Waverly internally cringed at how upbeat her voice sounded while she forced herself to ignore the damn reaction that flickered across Nicole’s face _again_. “See you then.” She gave a smile and wave. _The_ smile and wave; the one she gave the whole town. Something about it felt very wrong, but she couldn’t take it back.

She was sure she could feel Nicole’s eyes on her as she walked to the Jeep, but when she snuck a peak while pulling open her driver side door, Nicole was walking away, disappearing into the night without a look back.

*****

“He made me a three course meal. Like, an actual, full-out, three course meal.” Jeremy said, eyes wide with disbelief.

Waverly dropped her head in her hand, giving him a dreamy smile. “You landed a good one.” She sighed.

“I know. I don’t understand how it happened. I thought he was a catch from the start, but this?” He held his hands up on either side of his head mimicking an explosion, making the sound with his mouth to complete the effect.

“I know exactly how it happened, silly. You,” She pointed at his face for emphasis. “Are a damn catch yourself. Like, the catchiest of catches.”

Jeremy shrugged, but the smile on his face suggested the compliment landed. “If you say so.”

“I do.” Waverly nodded once with emphasis, swaying slightly from side to side on her barstool.

Shorty’s was busy for a weeknight, the din of voices and glasses louder than normal. It was clearly connected to the impending holiday. Everyone had a more cheerful air about them, old friends who hadn’t caught up in awhile mixing together with co-workers grabbing an after hours drink. Waverly loved the particular energy floating around the establishment. With under a week to go until Christmas, she was going to hang on to every last drop of it.

“How you guys doing over here? Need any refills?” Rosita leaned in to check on them, wiping absently at the bar area next to them.

“Nope.” Waverly popped the ‘p’. “Plenty of libations left to toast Jeremy on his one year anniversary with a fantastic guy.” She raised her glass for him to touch his bright greenish-yellow concoction to.

“Good for you, Mad Scientist.” Rosita said the nickname with affection. She was used to him showing up to happy hour wearing inscrutable somethings splashed along his clothes. They’d had more than one conversation during slow nights that brought Rosita’s degree from her life previous to Purgatory and Jeremy’s current job into play. Waverly liked those nights, she got to listen and learn concepts she wasn’t exposed to in her every day life.

Rosita arched an eyebrow as she turned her attention to Waverly. “And how about you? Figure out what’s missing this holiday season yet?” A glint of something that looked an awful lot like knowing flashed in her eyes.

Jeremy swiveled his head to look at Waverly in question.

Waverly blew out a breath. She’d honestly forgotten about that conversation for the most part. She looked up at the ceiling as she thought it over, her brows pulling down when it dawned on her. “I haven’t really been feeling like that the last couple weeks. I don’t know what it is, but, the feeling is sort of, not there anymore?” She stated it as a question, not really sure how to explain it. “Maybe I’m just distracted with everything going on.” She added, but idea didn’t feel quite right.

Jeremy widened his eyes and nodded as his sipped out of the straw in his drink. “You are running around like the poster-child for hustle.”

Waverly supposed that was true, but she liked being busy, and she liked helping out. Those two things fit together rather well, especially this time of year.

Rosita eyed her, the knowing glint still present. “Maybe that’s it.” The look she slid Waverly when she tapped the bar before walking away to take care of another customer suggested she didn’t really buy into the theory.

It stayed with her, that look, well into the next day. It wasn’t until the following night, while in the process of connecting the roof on the gingerbread house she was building with Alice, that it hit her. “Oh.” Waverly stared into the middle-distance, not quite seeing anything in front of her.

“Uh, Aunt Waverly, are you okay?” Alice asked, managing to give her a sanity questioning look that was quite impressive for a seven year old.

“Yeah, sorry kid, I just realized something.” She shook her head. “It was weird.”

Alice seemed to take that at face value, her eyes zeroing in again on the tree she was frosting to put in the front yard of the Gingerbread set up. “Realizing weird things is fun sometimes.” She stated matter of factly. “Was it a fun weird thing you realized?”

“I don't know.” Waverly answered honestly. “Maybe?” She thought about it another moment. “I think I want it to be?”

The front door slammed open, the typical way Wynonna entered any building, much to Waverly’s annoyance. “Mama’s home and I brought extra white icing.” She declared, shedding her coat and tossing it over a chair back as she plopped a plastic bag on the table.

Waverly kept her hands steady on the roof pieces as she shot Wynonna a look. “Gingerbread houses aren’t rated to withstand earthquakes, you know.”

“I can’t respond how I want to right now in front of the munchkin, lucky you, but I think you know what I’m thinking, so picture it in your head.”

Waverly stuck out her tongue in response, which made Alice giggle.

They worked together, trading barbs and giggles, for another half hour, until they were satisfied with how everything looked. Which, if Waverly was honest, was somewhat like a monstrosity, but when you’re decorating based on a Seven Year Old’s whims, sometimes excess comes into play.

While Wynonna worked on getting Alice cleaned up for bed, Waverly stood in the kitchen debating with herself. When the debate proved inconclusive, she closed her eyes, counted to five, and then acted on the most prevalent thought in her mind when the countdown ended.

“I need to run out for something, I’ll be back in a bit!” She yelled up the stairs to Wynonna as she wrapped her favorite blue, lavender and pink patterned scarf around her neck. It wasn’t Christmas-y, but she got a little boost from donning something she liked so much. She heard some sort of muffled response from Wynonna, but she didn’t wait around to decipher it.

She turned up the radio on her drive, blasting out some upbeat pop song, in the hopes of drowning out any second-guessing. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was doing, or was going to do, when she reached her destination. She just knew she felt a tug, and she was going to follow the momentum of it, second-guessing be damned.

The parking lot was almost empty save for a couple of trucks when Waverly pulled into the Tree Farm. She took a deep breath, hands clutched to the steering wheel as it hit her that she was actually here. She took her time, admiring the lights strung up around the posts where the trees were lined up. The number of trees for sale had dwindled significantly since Waverly was here last, and she was happy thinking they did a good business this year.

She finally worked up the courage to get out of the Jeep, taking tentative steps forward. Waverly couldn’t pinpoint exactly why she was there, but she was sure of the quiet knowledge that came to her over the gingerbread house earlier. Nicole was at least partly responsible for her recent change in holiday disposition, and a need deep within tugged at her to explore the newfound revelation.

Waverly felt a calmness take over as she let the vibe of the farm at night settle in around her. The cabin she assumed was Nicole’s now had a plume of smoke coming from the chimney, and it was such a cozy sight Waverly actually smiled. She considered knocking on the front door, thinking maybe at quarter to nine at night Nicole was already ensconced within for the evening. The murmur of voices drew her attention towards the barn, where she saw Doc talking with a man and what she assumed was his teenage son, who was doing his best to look uninterested in what was going on around him. Movement from beyond them, in the barn, drew Waverly’s gaze, and a peak of red hair set her on her path. Doc gave her a friendly wave as she walked by, which she returned.

The inside of the barn was surprisingly warm due to multiple space heaters blowing throughout the area. Nicole was busy rearranging some boxes against a wall when Waverly entered and failed to notice her new visitor right away, so Waverly took advantage of her few seconds of anonymity to watch Nicole’s movements and take in her attire. Gone was her usual beanie, replaced by a backwards ball cap, a pencil wedged underneath the band on one side hanging down in front of an ear. She wore a powder blue quarter zip-up fleece with the sleeves shoved up to her elbows that was oversized but looked damn comfortable, while her dark jeans revealed a red fleece lining with the single roll at the bottom. A glance at her feet showed she was wearing the work boots Waverly had become familiar with. It was a cozy, casual look, and Waverly felt a warmth blossom in her chest that had nothing to do with the warm air the heaters pumped out.

Nicole startled when she turned back and found her standing there. She recovered quickly enough though, an easy smile forming on her face. “This is an unexpected surprise. What brings you out here?” She asked, leaning her forearms on the counter and waiting expectantly for a response.

Waverly’s brain stalled. She’d purposely not thought this far ahead so she wouldn’t talk herself out of coming. But now that she was here, she had no idea what to say. Her eyes drifted to the board of wreaths set up. “Wreath.” She blurted out, parroting what her eyes observed.

Nicole’s brow crinkled. “What?”

Waverly blew out a breath, trying to calm her suddenly erratic heart beat. “Sorry, we’re having a wreath emergency at home. And everyone knows you can’t have Christmas without a wreath, so, here I am.” It was most certainly the lamest excuse produced in the history of man, Waverly thought, fighting strongly with the urge to face palm.

“Here you are.” The way Nicole said it was just short of mystified, like she was still trying to catch up with the conversation. She seemed to work through it quickly, though, giving a single nod of acceptance. “Well, I wouldn’t want your Christmas ruined.” She winked at Waverly before pushing off the counter and sauntering over to the rack of wreaths. “I’m afraid we don’t have a lot left, but I promise what we do have is quality and more than capable of saving a Christmas.”

Waverly knew she was being teased, but Nicole’s dimples were on full display, which somehow managed to take any of the sting out of it. She took her time looking over the hand full of options. Standing next to Nicole felt calming somehow, so she grabbed the few extra seconds her perusal afforded. She could feel Nicole watching her after the first few seconds, which prompted her to finally make a choice. Not that she was giving the wreaths much attention to begin with.  “I’ll take that one.” She pointed to one on the top-most wrung, with a red and black checked patterned bow on the front.”

“Excellent choice, some of Maddie’s finest work.” Nicole said, stepping forward to pull it from its hook.

“Maddie?” Waverly asked, something she couldn’t identify tickling through her chest. “The recluse who lives on the edges of town and does iron art? How’d you get her to make wreaths for you?”

“An exchange of goods sort of situation. I bought an iron sculpture from her to keep my fireplace tools on last winter, noticed a wreath on her door, asked about it, and the rest is history.” Nicole pulled her lips to the side. “She was pretty affronted when I asked if she could do up some mistletoe bundles as well, but she wound up doing it anyway. Sold out of those suckers fast.”

“Ah yes, the old mistletoe ploy. I had my first real kiss under a mistletoe, actually. Thank god it wasn’t with some bumbling, obnoxious teenage boy.” She recalled.

“It wasn’t?” Nicole asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Waverly replayed the sentence in her head and realized what it might have implied. “Oh no, nothing untowards. It was Chrissy Nedley actually, Principal Nedley’s daughter. We’re only a year apart.”

Nicole shook her head as if she was having hearing problems. “I’m sorry, did you just say your first real kiss was with Principal Nedley’s daughter?”

“Yep, at a Holiday party for the town. I thought she was so cool, being a year older, but she was always friendly to me.”

“Apparently.” Nicole’s lips took on a wry twist.

“It wasn’t like that.” Waverly explained. “A bunch of kids were talking about using the mistletoe as an excuse to practice their kissing, and well, Chrissy knew I’d never really kissed anyone, so she figured she’d help with that.” Waverly shook her head. “She said all the girls practiced on each other sometimes. I never told her, but man, did she rock my thirteen year old world.” Waverly blinked herself out of the past. “She’s a high-powered prosecutor in the city now, engaged to some big-wig philanthropist guy. I missed the boat on that one.” She sighed.

Nicole laughed, but eyed her with heightened curiosity. “Do you think you really would have wanted that kind of life? Living in the city, with a big-time lawyer for a wife?”

Waverly didn’t miss the slight pause before the final word of her sentence. She mulled the question over, tucking a bit of hair behind her ear while she settled on her words. “The city living part, I don’t think I could have done. I like it here. I know everyone, I get to be the town sweetheart, which isn’t really that hard to do, considering the competition.” She joked. “But the ambitious wife part? If I met the right girl,” She rolled her eyes at herself. “Sorry, I mean woman. I don’t see why not.” She watched as Nicole gave the smallest of nods in acknowledgement. Her heart sped up, and she wanted to pretend she didn’t know why, but she had an inkling.

“I get that.” Nicole pushed at one of her sleeves that had started to creep down, setting it back at elbow length. “Your reputation as the town sweetheart precedes you, for the record. It seems like any time it comes up that I’m helping with set build for the school play, whoever I’m talking to manages to insert into the conversation how amazing you are. Even the mailman.” Nicole’s brows drew together as she looked off into the distance for a moment, blinking hard before she refocused on Waverly. “Which, is all true by the way, the stuff they say. You, Waverly Earp, are quite the likable person.” One side of her mouth pulled up in a smile. Her brown eyes were friendly, but there was something behind it that Waverly couldn’t quite figure out. It was almost hesitant, and Waverly had no idea why. She wanted to though, that much she knew with startling clarity.

“This is on the house, by the way.” Nicole held the wreath up.

“Oh no, I can’t accept that. Please let me pay you.” Waverly started to pull off a glove so she could find her wallet.

Nicole shook her head. “Nope, done deal, it’s yours.” She pulled the pencil out from her hat to mark something down on a piece of paper resting on top of the counter. When she turned back her eyes caught on the clock hanging from a nail just inside the barn door. “It’s time for me to shut everything down.” She gave an apologetic look. “Can I walk you out?”

Waverly nodded, jarred to realize she’d come all this way and still wasn’t exactly sure what she was hoping for from the visit. She took the wreath Nicole held to her and waited as Nicole turned off the space heaters and lights before locking up the barn doors. Watching it was oddly domestic, Waverly realized, but she liked witnessing Nicole doing the little things that came with running her business.

The night wasn’t frigid, but there was a definite chill in the air as they took a meandering pace towards the parking lot. Waverly wondered if the reluctance she felt to end their conversation was reciprocal. She searched for a topic that might extend the visit, but when she came up short something floating in the back of her mind came popping out. “What about you?” She asked, squeezing her eyes shut at the abruptness and complete lack of context for the question.

“What about me what?” Nicole asked, her lips twisting in amusement as she slid her hands into her back pockets.

“A city life, a wife, that whole shebang, is it something you’d ever want? Sorry, sometimes my brain catches up to things after the fact.” She added, hoping to smooth over the awkwardness.

“I get that.” Nicole nodded. She blew out her cheeks as she thought over the question. “Uh, the city life, no. I love living amongst nature, and I need to be able to see the stars.” She tilted her head up to look at the sky before continuing. “The wife thing I’ve done, didn’t turn out so well.”

Waverly came to an abrupt stop. “Wait, you’ve been married before? Not that that’s a bad thing.” She hastily added.

Nicole gave a slow nod, her eyes settling on Waverly for just a moment before flitting away again and fixing somewhere in the darkness. “Yeah. A couple years after college I fell for a girl hard and fast. We got married pretty quick, which, in hindsight was not the smartest idea. Shae wasn’t a bad person at all, hell, we’re Facebook friends now, but it was pretty rough while we were flaming out.”

“Wow, that sounds shitty.” Waverly felt sympathy for what must have been a difficult time in Nicole’s life.

“Yeah.” Nicole took a tentative step, resuming the meandering gate from earlier when Waverly moved with her. Her shoulders hunched in slightly, and it was distinctly a look Waverly had never seen on her. She wondered if she’d hit a nerve better left alone. “After that, I focused on figuring out my career. Moved around, took some odd jobs to learn skills, found my love for the woods and this sort of thing.” She took a breath. “And I backburnered the whole serious relationship thing, because...I’m not sure it’s for me.”

They were at her Jeep now, but all Waverly could focus on was the sensation of ice water running down her spine at Nicole’s words. She shouldn’t feel that way, had no right to. They were just having a conversation between friends, there’d been no indication of more between them. Waverly told herself the facts, tried to reason with herself, but then Nicole’s eyes met hers. Her stomach sunk at the regret and what looked an awful lot like apology swimming in the brown depths. Waverly had no idea what to do with either, but she knew she needed to get out of there, because she might suffocate if she didn’t. “I better go.” She said, barely above a whisper.

Nicole nodded once, sinking her hands further into her pockets as she watched Waverly leave. She was still visible in the rearview mirror when Waverly made the turn onto the road.

She spent the ride home trying to convince herself there was nothing unusual about the night. Everything was fine, she and Nicole were friends, nothing more. She hung the new wreath on the front door when she got home, possibly with way more force than was warranted. The old, perfectly fine wreath was tossed onto one of the rocking chairs before she went inside.

“Hey, you’re back. I know it’s a work night, but” Wynonna shook the bottle of amber liquid in her hand with a goofy grin. “What do you say to–”

Waverly grabbed the bottle of liquor without a word, taking a swig before she could think better of it. Her face immediately screwed up as the burn assaulted her throat. “Holy shit, that tastes like it was poured out of a shoe.”

Wynonna grabbed the bottle out of her hand. “You’re not supposed to mainline it...unless you’re me.” She amended. She eyed Waverly. “Where were you?”

Waverly marched past her, not remotely interested in reliving the night. “Just running some errands.”

“Were they errands in hell? Because you seem kind of upset.”

“I’m fine, doesn’t matter. Now tell me we have something better than that for a nightcap.” She took a step towards the kitchen but Wynonna’s hand closing around her wrist brought her to a halt.

“Hey, if you’re upset, it matters to me.” Concern was written all over her face as she waited the silence out.

Waverly sighed, her shoulders slumping with the action. “I just thought maybe something was happening that wasn’t. It’s fine, _I’ll_ be fine.” Wynonna was still looking at her with concern, so she tried a different tactic. “I promise, I’ll talk to you about it at some point, but right now I just want to have a drink with my sister, okay?

Wynonna’s face smoothed out as she was appeased for the moment. “Yes, Ma’am, right this way.” She led the way into the kitchen, and for the rest of the night neither of them came anywhere near acknowledgement that something was clearly bothering Waverly.

 


	3. The Happily Ever After

The few days leading up to the Holiday Spectacular were a blur. Classes proved challenging with the students displaying levels of energy that came with a looming week long vacation. Then there was the final run-through the night before the show, with all of the kids dressed in costume. It, of course, came with a ripped candy cane costume after one of the girls fell and a painted tree falling over on an unsuspecting third grade boy. Luckily the fake tree was light.

Waverly rubbed at her temples as she stood in the waiting wings of the stage. Her sewing, painting, and child-cheering up skills had all been put to the test mightily, but they had finally arrived at the destination. She could hear the growing murmur of voices as the auditorium filled in with parents, family, friends and faculty.

“Heyyyy.” Jeremy drew out, clutching his pageboy hat in his hand as he approached her with a big smile. “It’s the big day. You ready?” He gave her arm a light punch.

“Please tell me this isn’t going to be a friggin disaster.” She waved her hands at herself. “Because I’m pretty sure that’s what it’s going to be. One. Giant. Friggin. Disaster.” She stared at him wide-eyed.

“Woah, woah, Waverly, relax.” He said, reaching out to take her by the shoulders. “You have put so much work into this, and you know the things you put work into don’t turn into disasters.” He sighed when she just continued to stare. “Waves, give me a deep breath.” He shook her shoulders lightly for emphasis. “Come on, do it with me.” He opened his mouth and took in a slow breath, watching as she reluctantly did the same. “Now another one.”

They repeated the action several more times before Waverly closed her eyes to reground herself. She opened them again with a small smile. “Thanks, Jeremy. I think my coping skills are a little down. Whole lack of sleep thing and all.”

He nodded in understanding. “Just think, get through this, and you have all of Christmas vacation to sleep. I’ll even distract Wynonna for a day or two if you need.” He widened his eyes to drive home the point of just how serious he was.

Waverly released another breath on a laugh. “I might hold you to that.” She rubbed her hands together. “I guess I should stop having a personal crisis and get out there to start this thing, huh?”

“That’s my girl.” Jeremy said, giving her a quick hug before heading down into the auditorium to find the seat Robin had saved for him.

She made sure the kids were lined up and ready for when the curtain opened before stepping through the folds to address the auditorium.

Public speaking wasn’t her favorite task, she’d always been more comfortable in a smaller group or one on one conversation, but she felt herself feed off the energy and excitement from the kids for her speech. She managed to draw a couple of laughs from the crowd, nodding her head to acknowledge the polite applause she received upon finishing. Her smile was wide as she turned to slip back between the curtains.

Her hand froze momentarily on the cloth material when her eyes caught sight of a particular flash of red in the audience. She shook off the jolt and kept moving, aware there was a show to start, but once the curtains drew and the kids were fully involved in dancing and singing their way through the first number, Waverly couldn’t help but scan the crowd from her spot in the darkened wing.

It only took a moment to find Nicole, sitting in a middle row, but off to the far side of the auditorium, Doc in the seat next to her. Waverly watched her for a minute, catching as she laughed at one of the jokes Waverly figured would land best in the show. Her dimples were deep as her eyes sparkled with amusement, and Waverly had to tear her attention away. She was keenly aware that she could have watched Nicole the entire damn play, but she had a job to perform, and nothing good would come from it anyway.

The show managed to go off without any major hitches. One boy forgot his line, but it drew a big laugh when he adlibbed. When the final curtain fell Waverly grinned as a sigh of relief moved through her. She’d done it.

The lights in the auditorium raised and chaos ensued as parents rushed to hug their children and shower them with praise and affection. Waverly watched on in fondness, even as her own heart felt the ache of what she never experienced in her own childhood.

Principal Nedley found her then, giving her shoulder an affectionate squeeze. “If I didn’t know it was your first year running this whole shebang, I would swear you’ve been doing it for years. You did good, Waverly. I’ll see you on Sunday night.” He gave her one more pat on the upper arm before ambling away, not one for too many words in the moment.

Alice came skipping up to her as the crowd in the auditorium thinned out considerably. She shed her costume as soon as the show was over, but her face still bore the striped paint of a candy cane. “Mama said I can have hot cocoa tonight, since I was way better than everyone else.” Her eyes narrowed. “Well, she said it with a bad word I’m not allowed to say, so I’m leaving that part out.”

“Heck yeah!” Waverly held her hand up for a high five before lowering her voice conspiratorially. “And don’t worry, I’ll make it, because we both know what happens when we let your Mama do it.” They both scrunched up their faces in disgust.

“Hey there. I don’t mean to interrupt, but I wanted to say hi.” Nicole approached them with a bit more tentativeness than Waverly could ever recall her displaying. She was also the most dressed up she’d ever seen, in black flat dress shoes, dark wash jeans and a green button up dress shirt. A leather jacket draped over one arm, but her other arm revealed that her sleeves were rolled halfway up her forearms as usual. “You,” Nicole pointed at Alice. “Were totally the star of the show. Way to be awesome, kid.”

Alice smiled and fidgeted with excitement at the praise. “Thanks! Auntie Waverly calls me kid, too. You’re cool.” She responded in that non-sequitur way that only kids get away with.

Nicole blinked in surprise but recovered fast enough, holding out a fist for bump. “You’re cool too, kid.”

Alice gave her a bump before looking back at Waverly. “See? Cool.”

Waverly hummed in agreement, because honestly, it was true. She could admit it. Alice bounced over to one of the kids still milling around that Waverly knew she was friends with, leaving the two of them alone. Waverly took her time meeting Nicole’s eyes, searching for a casual comment to make, but the sheer reality of having her there hit all at once. “You came.” It was a quiet statement, but also a question, and they both knew it.

Nicole shifted her jacket from one arm to the other. “Of course I did. I wanted to see the finished product born of all my woman hours.” She tugged her lips up in a wry smile, but it faded quickly, her eyes going soft with sincerity. “And I wasn’t going to miss your directorial debut.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Waves, it was amazing. You were amazing.”

Waverly let the sentiment spread through her as their eyes held. “Thanks.” She responded, but she was pretty sure her entire face and body were already saying it. She was smiling softly, though she couldn’t recall giving herself permission to do so.

“Hey!” Alice bounced back over, looking between the two of them. “Can Nicole come to Christmas Eve Eve dinner tomorrow?”

Waverly blinked, confused at the sudden intrusion, her brain trying to catch up with the question. She must have taken too long, because Alice turned to Nicole to move the conversation along. “Wanna come over tomorrow? You can bring your friend with the mustache if you want. I like him, he does finger guns.” She shapes her own hands into guns, firing off a couple rounds.

Nicole looked at Waverly for some sort of sign as to how she should respond, but she kept herself carefully neutral. “Uh, yeah, I’d love to, if your Mama is okay with it.”

“MAMA!” Alice yelled, taking off down the aisle to spring her question on Wynonna. They both watched her as she ran.

“Wow, she has some energy.” Nicole observed.

“You have no idea.” Waverly said fondly, tucking a bit of hair behind her ear. “Listen, sorry about the seven year old ambush attack. You don’t have to come, if you have plans. Which, I’m sure you do. But,” Waverly was aware of the voice in her head telling her to just stop talking, but apparently she was going to ignore, since words were still coming out of her mouth. “If you want, you’re more than welcome to stop by. We always have way too much food. And booze.” She added as an afterthought.

“I don’t.” Nicole looked surprised at her own words, but it faded quickly. “I mean, I don’t have plans.”

“You don’t have plans.” Waverly parroted back. The auditorium was doing that thing again where it seemed to be fading from existence.

“Nope.”

“So, you might come tomorrow?”

Nicole nodded in lieu of words. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Alice chose the exact moment to come racing back.

“Mama said it was fine.” She spun on her heel to Nicole. “But she said to bring some of your own booze, Red. She isn’t a charity.”

Nicole bit down on her lip to keep from laughing at Alice’s spot on impression of Wynonna. “I can do that.” She addressed Waverly again. “Doc and I rode together, so, I should probably go.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder to where Doc was in conversation with Robin and Jeremy. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Waverly gave a wave goodbye, not able to keep herself from smiling when Nicole looked back, just for a moment, before leaving the auditorium. Her brain immediately reminded her of their last conversation at the tree farm. She tempered the warm feeling in her chest. Maybe they were working their way to being good friends. She could live with that. Friends were great. The more the merrier.

“You smile different when she’s around.” Alice said, reminding Waverly she wasn’t alone.

“What?”

“Nicole, she makes you smile different. I like it. Can we go have hot cocoa now?” She asked, changing the subject before Waverly could even catch up to it.

“Sure thing, kid.” Waverly responded absently before shaking herself out of the fog. She was not going to dwell on this all night. Absolutely not. It was time to go home and make hot cocoa for her niece.

*****

Christmas Eve Eve dinner was quite possibly one of her finest ideas, Waverly mused. She was able to put her host skills on display, eat good food, laugh freely, and spend time with an ever growing assortment of people she considered family.

She watched on from the doorway of the living room as Robin, with Jeremy by his side, tried to explain the merits of Jazz to Nedley. She didn’t think he was going to have much success, but the sight of Robin gesturing enthusiastically while he talked to a stone-faced Nedley with the fireplace blazing cheerfully behind them was one that put a smile on her face.

“You like Willie Nelson, right?” Robin asked, getting a solemn nod from Nedley. Waverly knew his feelings for Willie Nelson’s music went well past like, but she admired Robin’s attempt at bridging their interests. “He’s considered the rebel of country music. Well, Jazz musicians are considered the rebels of all music.” Robin said, waving his arms out and sloshing a bit of the eggnog over the side of the cup he held.

“Woah there, why don’t you let me take that.” Jeremy carefully extricated the cup from Robin’s hand, looking back and forth for a place to put it down.

“If we’re going to talk rebels of a musical era, I personally find Cash more to my liking, but Nelson was certainly no slouch.” Doc inserted himself into the conversation as he strolled in from the kitchen with a newly poured glass of whiskey in hand.

“Now that,” Nedley pointed at Doc. “Is a viewpoint I can understand. No disrespect, son.” He added to Robin.

Despite Nedley’s conciliatory tone, Robin’s eyes lit up. “None taken. On the contrary, Johnny Cash is a musical icon I’m happy to give respect to. Some people might see him as just a country music singer, but he managed to push musical boundaries throughout his career on everything from Blues to Rock and Roll. Some would even say he had an early influence on what would become Gangster Rap.”

“Wow, that is not a turn I pictured this conversation taking.”

A glass of white wine appeared in front of Waverly along with Nicole’s voice. She took the glass carefully, their fingers brushing together for the briefest of moments. Nicole returned her hand to her side, flexing her fingers out in a way Waverly didn’t miss. She ignored the jolt it caused  in her stomach as she took a sip from the wine. She licked her lips in surprise. “Wow. This is good.” She took another sip. “Like, really good.”

Nicole’s lips spread into a slow smile that Waverly had grown to really like over the past few weeks. She ignored that, too. “Yeah?” She dipped her head and tucked her hair behind an ear. “I wasn’t exactly sure what to bring, but I figured you can’t go wrong with wine and whiskey.”

Waverly nodded in agreement. Wynonna had yanked the bottle of Whiskey out of Nicole’s hand roughly one second after she’d crossed the threshold of the front door. “It will certainly make you a hit in this household.” She took another sip of the wine. It was _really_ good. “I have to admit, I don’t really know much about wine, but I know I like this.”

A dimple appeared in Nicole’s cheek. “Honestly? Neither do I. I asked the guy at the store for his recommendations for a good red and white.”

“Well, now I’m excited to try the red with dinner. Because everyone knows you have red with a meat and potatoes type dinner.” She joked.

“Naturally.” Nicole said, her voice taking on a pompous tone.

Waverly giggled, and it was the most interesting thing, she thought, the way Nicole’s eyes seemed to go _so_ soft in reaction.

“Hey, Nikki, great taste in whiskey. You can stay.” Wynonna interrupted the moment, because Wynonna always interrupted the moment.

“You’re welcome, and don’t ever call me that again.” Nicole gave her a challenging stare.

Wynonna returned the stare with a grin. “Roger that, Big Red. No shortening of the name, I’ll write that down.” Nicole narrowed her eyes, but before she could give a retort, the timer in the kitchen rang out. “Oooo, saved by the bell. Time to do some basting, keep your panties in a twist until I get back.” She winked at Nicole on her way out of the room.

“I’m still waiting for the lovable part of the asshole to kick in.” Nicole said, watching Wynonna’s retreating form. She flitted her eyes back to Waverly, their gazes holding again before Alice wandered in from the kitchen to get everyone’s attention.

“Mama said to tell you she heard whatever smart ass comment you just made. Cool shirt.” She touched the hem of Nicole’s button up navy blue shirt with tiny pine trees on it. The sleeves were, of course, rolled up. Waverly idly wondered if Nicole ever wore shirts with long sleeves any other way. “Oh, Mama didn’t say the cool shirt part, that was all me.” She flounced away as quickly as she appeared.

“Thanks.” Nicole called weakly after her.

Waverly hid her amused smile in her wine glass. So far, Nicole was fitting right in. She may not realize it, but the general razzing was an Earp stamp of approval. She figured if they could navigate this thing to the point where they were friends, she’d be a welcome addition to the group.

She was hopeful with that feeling all the way up until it was time to sit down to dinner.

She couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment when her heart started to sink, but it probably started around the time she had to sit next to Nicole.

Wynonna sat at one head of the table, Alice at a corner next to her. Nedley took the spot at the other end. Robin, Jeremy and Dolls fit in along one side, while Doc Waverly and Nicole were on the other. She and Nicole eyed each other when it became apparent where the seating arrangements were headed. Waverly gave a small smile as if to say, hey, no big deal. And it wasn’t, for the first few minutes anyway.

Nedley grumbled as he stood to carve the turkey. “Making an old man do more work during his time off.” His voice graveled, but he winked at Waverly, his mustache not quite concealing the way the corners of his mouth turned up.

It was when Nicole started handing her plates adorned with carved turkey to pass down the table that Waverly became acutely aware of the energy clinging to the space between them. It was heavy, like gravity had settled in and wanted to draw her closer. She fought against the feeling, jerking when their hands met again in the process of handling the plates. Waverly tried to hide the action with another quick smile, but the one Nicole gave her in return was hesitant, her eyes heavier than they had been earlier in the night.

Waverly focused on loading her plate up with sides of mashed sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, vegetarian stuffing, and green bean casserole. She stabbed a fork-full, ready to shove it in her mouth as a distraction, when Nedley cleared his throat from where he still stood at the head of the table. He raised his eyebrows at her until she slowly lowered her fork to the plate with a light clink.

“It makes no difference to me who you want to send it up to, or not, as the case may be, but I’d like to say grace, if you don’t mind.” He looked around the table in question, getting nods of acquiescence in return. He bowed his head, folding his hands in front of his waist. “I’m awfully thankful to be part of this gathering today; to know that around this table sits a group of people that, despite any sarcastic fronts,” He sneaked a quick look up at Wynonna. “Are willing to help each other, care for each other, and take care of one another. To whoever’s running the show up there, thank you for the holiday, this food, and for each other’s company.” He nodded once, signaling an end to his speech.

“Hear, hear.” Dolls said, holding up his glass of water, served in the fanciest glass they had so he still felt part of the flowing libations.

Everyone took the time to touch their glasses together, Alice hopping out of her chair to make her way to the other end of the table with her cup of sparkling cider.

Nicole took the time to give a fist bump along with her cup clink, and Waverly’s heart clenched. That’s when she knew, and the knowledge caused an excruciating descent during dinner. She couldn’t be friends with Nicole. Not now, maybe not ever. Every time their arms brushed together, every smell of Nicole’s amazing scent, only cemented the truth. She _liked_ Nicole. She liked her a lot, as more than a friend. But it would seem Nicole was unavailable.

It wasn’t lost on her that Nicole got quieter as the dinner went on. She chatted with everyone when they spoke to her, made jokes in the right spots, but something felt quietly closed off about her as the night continued.

Waverly hated it.

She wasn’t all that surprised when Nicole called it a night first. She made her exit gracefully, joking with Doc about not getting too drunk because she was not starting the breakdown work at the farm tomorrow by herself, before telling Dolls she’d consider joining in the annual adults versus kids kickball game at the upcoming Open House Night. She even showed just the right amount of interest when Robin and Jeremy suggested they meet up at Mama June's some time.

Nedley gave her a solid handshake before she donned her coat and beanie. “Thank you for your donation of not just the trees, but also your time. It means a lot to this community.” He held her gaze with a seriousness that suggested he perhaps understood more than what was on the surface.

Nicole swallowed, nodding her thanks for the words. “Of course. I’d be honored to do it all again next year, if the need arises.”

“I’ll give you a call.” Nedley said, giving her arm a squeeze before ambling off to use the bathroom before he called it a night himself.

Nicole puffed her cheeks out on a breath of air, turning to Waverly last. “Thank you for inviting me. It was really amazing getting to have this experience with you all.”

“Well, it was technically Alice who invited you.” Waverly tried for light and joking, but regretted it immediately when she got a sad smile in return.

“Well, all the same, I really enjoyed myself tonight.”

Waverly wasn’t sure of anything in the moment, except the overwhelming urge to spend just one more minute together. “I’ll walk you out.” She grabbed a scarf to throw around her neck, forgoing an actual jacket, maybe as incentive not to linger longer than prudent and make a fool out of herself.

She pulled the front door shut behind her, rubbing at her arms as she noted the snow now falling. “Our road isn’t exactly a paragon of winter road maintenance, so please drive safe.”

Nicole stopped at the top of the steps, turning to face Waverly fully. Her smile showed appreciation for the concern. “I will, thanks.” She slid her hands into her front pockets as her shoulders straightened. Waverly knew what was coming before she spoke again. “It was really great working with you, Waverly. I hope you have a great Christmas, and maybe I’ll see you around town sometime.”

And there it was. Waverly could hear it in her tone and see it on her face. She was going to keep her distance.

She tried desperately to keep the tremor out of her voice when she spoke next, but she wasn’t entirely successful. “It was really great meeting you, Nicole.” The reaction to her name was there again, and Waverly found herself the tiniest bit frustrated by it.

Nicole’s head dipped as she scraped her toe against the planks of the porch. “It sounds different when you say it. My name.” She clarified quietly as she lifted her head to capture Waverly’s gaze and hold it with an intensity that made Waverly swallow. “I like the way it rolls off your tongue. That’s why I react.” She let out a shaky breath with the admission, her eyes imploring Waverly to understand something she couldn’t verbalize.

Waverly opened her mouth to say something, anything, but no words would come. Her breath curled out into the night between them as the seconds ticked by. She felt the gravity tugging between them again, was almost ready to give into it, when the door swung open behind her. The interruption broke the spell of the moment immediately.

“Pardon me, ladies, I don’t mean to interrupt, but it’s time I get on home. I have some preparations to attend to before Chrissy arrives tomorrow night. I still like to make the holidays special for my little girl, even though she’s not so little anymore.” He narrowed his eyes. “Plus, it’s probably the last Christmas I’ll get with her alone, I imagine her city boy will want to be included after the wedding.” He looked between the two of them with a wry smile.

“Happy Holidays, I hope you have a great visit with your daughter.” Nicole told him. The moment their eyes met again, Waverly knew their shared moment was over. Nicole hitched a thumb over her shoulder. “I’m going to hit the road now myself. Thanks again.” She said to both of them, turning and jogging down the steps before getting a response.

Nedley stood by Waverly’s side, watching Nicole climb into her truck. “Merry Christmas, Waverly. I hope you get everything on your list.” He walked away then, leaving Waverly with nothing but her thoughts and the cold.

She stared out into the darkness, whispering into the empty space. “Unfortunately, I don’t think I will.”

*****

Christmas Eve came with chaos. Alice’s energy levels were through the roof, but Waverly couldn’t blame her. At seven years old, Christmas was one of the biggest days of the year, and the anticipation of it turned you into a non-stop bouncing ball of energy.

Wynonna displayed peak levels of concern for how the house looked, wary of criticism from Aunt Gus, who was due to arrive Christmas morning to watch Alice open her presents and spend the afternoon with them. Not that Gus was ever overly critical, she just had a no nonsense way of pointing things out. And while Wynonna always deflected said comments with a heavy dose of snark and sarcasm, Waverly knew she took them to heart, probably more than she should.

“Why are there so many throw pillows to fluff?” Wynonna asked, incredulous at the fact that every couch and chair had some sort of pillow on it.

“Don’t look at me. You’re the one that went through a nesting phase, oh, almost eight years ago now.” She looked pointedly at Alice, who was watching an old VHS copy of Rudolph.

“Yet you didn’t stop me. You were an enabler, Waverly Earp. A great big throw pillow enabler.” She tossed one of the offensive objects in Waverly’s direction.

Waverly suspected her sigh could be heard from outside the house.

Not long after the pillow assault she managed to hide herself away up in her bedroom to finish present wrapping. Well, start it was more accurate. She couldn’t believe she was so far behind in the present prep department. Normally she had everything ready to go a week before the holiday, but everything was off-kilter this year. The time and focus the play required really threw off her normal holiday rhythm. It was possible there were some other distractions taking up real estate in her mind as well, but she was absolutely not going to think about that right now. At all.

She pulled the scissors along a strip of ribbon with enough friction to make the tightest curl known to mankind.

_It sounds different when you say it._

Nope, she wasn’t going there. She absolutely would not relive the conversation from last night again. Was it a little confusing that Nicole had shared the information after being quite obvious she was saying a pretty permanent goodbye? Yes. Did she wonder why Nicole decided to tell her, because now it was going to bounce around in her head incessantly? Hell, yes.

“Nope. I’m not doing this.” Waverly said to the empty room around her. If Nicole couldn’t do relationships, then she couldn’t do relationships. Because that’s what she’d said at the Tree Farm, Waverly was sure of it. Stomach swooping disclosures of her feelings on how Waverly said her name be damned.

The crinkle of tissue paper sounded as she leaned forward, digging through the wrapping supplies around her. Where was Wynonna’s last present? She’d ordered it online a few weeks ago. She’d made sure to, since it wasn’t exactly something that could be picked up at the corner market. The serum Wynonna used in her hair was one of her go to gifts over the last several years. While she had a head of hair that would make a horse weep, that shine didn’t just happen, people.

“Shit.” She dug around with more fervor. “Shit, shit, shit.” She gave up, a piece of tissue paper floating back down to her lap. Had it ever even come? The thought hit her hard enough that she already knew the answer. She pushed off the floor and opened the laptop at her desk to confirm.

“ _Shit_.” She breathed out one last time, staring at the On Mail Truck for Delivery update she got from the tracking app, posted...three days ago. Great, so it was somewhere in the ether. She tapped her fingers against the top of her desk, telling herself to take a breath. She was giving her temper a little too much room to emerge. After a couple deep breaths she closed her laptop again and started the process of cleaning up her room, which was way more involved than it ought to be, given her frantic ransacking of the supplies. She was tucking the last bit of tissue paper back into a bag when she heard a familiar rumble.

The mail truck.

Maybe. Just maybe…

She ran down the stairs, throwing open the front door just as Eddie was pulling up behind her Jeep. He hopped out of the truck with a couple of envelopes and a box in his hands. Waverly zeroed in on the package immediately.

“Hi there.” He called jovially. He held up the box. “Looking for this?” He climbed the steps and held it out to her, chuckling when she snatched it from his hands.

A quick look confirmed that it was exactly what she needed. She held it to her chest like it was a prized possession. “Yes. Thank you, you have no idea how much I was panicking when I saw it was out for delivery as of three days ago.”

“Sorry about that. This time of year, sometimes things get lost in the shuffle.” He glanced up at the porch roof, like he was inspecting the woodwork. “Kind of like life sometimes, you know? Something can seem perfectly on track, and then an unexpected detour hits. It can take a little bit to recover, but I find the things most worthwhile usually have a way of navigating the detours and winding up right where they’re supposed to be.”

Waverly opened her mouth and shut it again. O-kay.

He winked at her, holding out the envelopes in his hand she’d completely ignored in her excitement over the box. “Well, I better get going, lots more to deliver. I’m sure you’re not the only one waiting on something.” His smile was bizarre, but Waverly couldn’t puzzle out why.

“Thanks, Eddie.” Waverly called after him weakly. She knew he sometimes liked to monologue, but this was next level. “Weird.” She muttered to herself, shivering as she entered the house.

The interaction stayed with her as she finished wrapping the final present, continuing an incessant presence when she placed everything under the tree, too. It was even around during dinner later. It was only when she cuddled up on the couch with Alice and Wynonna, mugs of hot cocoa piled high with whipped cream in hand to watch Muppets’ Christmas Carol, that she finally forced herself to focus on the present moment. A weird conversation with the mailman was not going to take away from their Christmas Eve tradition.

Halfway through the movie, Alice leaned her head against Waverly’s shoulder, one of her little hands clutching Wynonna’s on the other side. It made Waverly warm and content inside. She dropped a quick kiss on her nieces head, gave Wynonna a small smile and relaxed into the moment.

An itch on her nose interrupted the peace like an annoying intruder, but a quick scratch and it was gone. She dropped her hand beside her, into a space on the couch big enough for another person to fit. It was a strange thing to notice, she thought, but then one of her favorite lines of the movie occurred and she was chuckling as the thought drifted away.

*****

“You seem a little off, sweetheart.” Gus leaned a hip against the kitchen table. She eyed Waverly with hawk-like eyes that never seemed to miss a thing.

Waverly paused in her motions tying together a trash bag full of wrapping paper and various refuse that came along with Christmas Day. “Do I?” She asked, as if it wasn’t something she was fully aware of. Too aware of, really.

“Mhmm.” Gus hummed in the affirmative. “Is there anything you need to talk about? You know I’m always here. Just a phone call away. Or even for a tea time visit, if one can find the time.” She fixed Waverly with a look that reminded her just how long it had been since she’d dropped by.

Waverly blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, I know I haven’t been great about our visits lately. I’ll be better, I promise. New Year’s Resolution.” She held up a hand like she was swearing into a courtroom, giving a smile to go with it.

“I’m going to hold you to that.” Gus pointed at her. Her face softened a fraction again. “Whatever’s got your attention curled up like a pig tail, let me know if you can’t figure it out. Sometimes I have good ideas on life.” She winked at her before pushing off the table and heading back into the living room.

Waverly finally secured the top of the trash bag with a double knot, shoving her feet into her boots and throwing on a jacket before bringing the trash outside to one of the bins they kept in back.

It was cold, but not horrifically so, which Waverly was thankful for. Come Mid-January she knew it would be different, so she would enjoy the above freezing temperatures while she could. Not that she was going to linger outside in them when there was a perfectly warm house waiting for her return. She toed her boots off and shed the jacket, wandering back into the living room to flop down onto the couch. Gus played with Alice and the horse figures she’d gotten for Christmas while Wynonna munched on some peppermint bark staring at the tv playing It’s a Wonderful Life, although she didn’t look like she was absorbing it much.

Waverly’s eyes were drawn to the calming lights on the Christmas tree. It really was a nice tree. Good symmetry, perfect height. They’d done well this year. She just wished it didn’t make her think of Nicole. As if she needed any extra help with that.

She decided to make a game of finding all of her favorite ornaments hanging on the tree as she finally let the frustration with the situation free, even just for a moment. She was not going to fixate on this after the holidays, so she might as well get it out of her system now.

So she liked someone. A lot. Crushes happened, it wasn’t a big deal. Just because Nicole didn’t want to pursue anything with her didn’t mean it was the end of the world. Only...

Waverly tilted her head to the side, not really seeing the tree in front of her anymore. Nicole hadn’t specifically said that, had she? She said she didn’t know if marriage and serious relationships were for her. Not the most encouraging statement, yet it occured to Waverly she had never actually told Nicole her damn feelings and given her a chance to react. It seemed possible they were both dancing around things, avoiding a direct conversation out of fear. She narrowed her eyes as she came to a decision. There was no way she was going to keep dwelling on this over and over in her head without doing anything about it.

“Are you okay over there?” Wynonna gestured at Waverly’s face with a piece of bark. “Because a whole lot of facial expression just happened on your face real fast.”

“Uh, yeah, just figuring something out.” She stood up from the couch, realizing Gus and Alice were watching her as well. “Don’t let me interrupt. I have to take care of something, but I’ll be back soon.” She dashed out of the room to grab her boots and coat, ignoring the questions that followed her. “I won’t be long.” She called out by way of general answer.

Her heart picked up its pace as she yanked the front door open, only to have everything come to a complete standstill.

“Hi.” Nicole’s face showed surprise at the door swinging open before she had even knocked. Her eyes flicked up and down, taking in Waverly’s attire. “Going somewhere?”

It took a long moment before Waverly’s brain jump started itself again. She tried to tamp down the glimmer of hope she felt at finding Nicole on her porch, all the while trying to decide exactly what her response should be. It hit her that maybe the truth was exactly what they both needed. She blew out a breath as she leaned against the doorframe. “I was coming to see you.”

Nicole’s eyes went wide for the briefest of moments before she recovered with a small smile. “Yeah?”

“Yep. So, a more important question is, what are you doing here?” She asked, her heartbeat increasing again as she waited for Nicole’s response. She didn’t have to wait long.

“I can’t stop thinking about you.” Nicole blurted out, her cheeks dusting pink at the admission. “Haven’t been able to, pretty much since we met.” She swallowed hard. “And I’m starting to think maybe I don’t want to stop.”

“Oh.” As far as responses went, Waverly had certainly had better ones, but she needed a moment for Nicole’s words to sink in. “I thought you said you couldn’t do relationships.” She furrowed her brow at her own sentence, realizing the mega amount of assumption that came with it. “I mean, not that you said anything about a relationship, at all. Because maybe you meant you can’t stop thinking about me as a friend? Which is valid, friendships are important. Not that that’s necessarily what I want with you, but if it’s what _you_ want, I–” She trailed off.

Nicole rolled her lips in and bit down, but the laughter was clear in her eyes. She must have noticed the embarrassed flush warming Waverly’s cheeks, because she softened before saying. “Sorry, you’re just really cute when you ramble, and I like you so much.”

The warmth in Waverly’s cheeks grew, but for an entirely different reason. “Not to be a spazz, but for clarification purposes, when you say you like me...” She trailed off in question.

This time Nicole didn’t try to temper her humor, a small chuckle leaving her lips. “I’m saying I _like_ like you.”

Waverly nodded once, a seed of hope in her chest blossoming into something solid. Before she could give into the feeling she wanted to be clear on something. “What if this is just another hard and fast fall, like with your ex, and it starts fading just as quickly? I thought you weren’t sure relationships were for you anymore.”

The humor on Nicole’s face faded, replaced with a sincerity that grounded Waverly. “Honestly? I’m a little afraid. But I have to level with you, I’m pretty sure that’s not what’s going on here. You’re special, Waverly Earp. The way I feel when I’m around you is something I’ve never experienced. I hope that doesn’t scare you.” She held Waverly's gaze as she continued. “So even if this is destined to flame out horribly in the end, I have a sneaking suspicion you’re worth it.”

Waverly’s heart clenched at the sentiment. No one had ever said something that took her breath away, until now. She was pretty sure she would never, ever forget even a single detail of the moment. Not the way Nicole was looking at her with such open adoration, or the way the breeze tickled at her hair, not even the distant sound of a crow. She might have teared up in the moment if not for another very pressing need. She uncrossed her arms, waiting a beat before raising her eyebrows. “You can’t just say something like that to a girl and not kiss her after.”

A slow grin spread across Nicole’s face. “Is that how it works?”

Waverly nodded once. “Pretty sure.”

Nicole took a step forward, her particular smell, a blend of vanilla, cedar and something else dreamy, hitting Waverly all at once. She tilted her head to the side a small fraction as she reached up to Waverly’s face, sliding her fingers along her jawline. Waverly swallowed as Nicole leaned in, taking her time in every sense of the word, one corner of her mouth taking on a cocky slant. “If I’m doing this, I’m doing it right.” She murmured, holding herself just shy of Waverly’s lips for a few more torturous seconds. Waverly’s breath caught in anticipation, her heart beating out of her chest. Finally, Nicole closed the distance.

A spark of electricity ran down her spine at first contact, and by the time their lips parted, Waverly had completely lost all awareness of where they were or what day it was. By the time their tongues touched she wasn’t even sure of her own name.

Nicole licked at her bottom lip beforepulling back, still cradling Waverly’s face as she took stock of the situation.

Waverly blinked at her. “Well, that was...” She trailed off. Words were weird, she thought. Stringing them together was such a challenge when you just had your face kissed off.

“Hey, ho ho hos, you’re letting all the cold air in.” Wynonna’s voice came jarring into the moment from the hallway behind them.

Waverly’s fuzzy brain struggled to comprehend the intrusion, the words not quite penetrating the fog she was still in. “I’m coming.” She responded absently.

“Ew, Waverly, not in front of the kid.”

“Wynonna.” Gus scolded.

Waverly blinked, her brain finally catching up to the moment. Heat crept up her cheeks as she watched Nicole bite down on her lower lip to keep from laughing. “Your fault.” Waverly told her, but she wasn’t particularly upset. It was kind of impossible to be with the way Nicole’s brown eyes were sparkling with amusement.

“So, they probably heard all that, huh?” Nicole asked, finally releasing Waverly’s face and stepping back.

Waverly squinted one eye. “Pretty good chance, yeah.” She looked over her shoulder to see the room behind them empty of prying eyes. Thank god for small miracles. She puffed out her cheeks turning back to Nicole. “Do you maybe want to come in for awhile? I can’t promise Wynonna won’t say more shit like that, but, you get used to it.”

Nicole chuckled. “I think I can handle it.”

Waverly took one of Nicole’s hands and lightly tugged her into the house, closing the door behind them. Once Nicole had removed her boots and jacket she took her hand again and led her into the living room, where three sets of eyes turned to stare at them. Well this was awkward.

It occurred to Waverly that maybe Nicole was uncomfortable holding her hand in front of people approximately thirty seconds after they had established a mutual liking, so she went to let go, but Nicole gave her hand a gentle squeeze and held on.

Gus stepped forward, her eyes dropping to their joined hands before giving Nicole a hard but not unkind look. “Gus Gibson.” She held out a hand in introduction. “I’m Wynonna and Waverly’s Aunt. I think of them as my own girls.” Gus’ protectiveness shown through in the statement.

Nicole let go of Waverly’s hand to participate in the shake. “Nicole Haught, owner of Haught’s Tree Farm.”

Gus’ eyes narrowed as they shook hands. “The place that donated the trees for the school play?”

“And donated a lot of time to set building and decorating.” Waverly added.

Gus nodded, her face going from stony assessment to a quiet acceptance. “Can I get you a cup of coffee, Nicole? We have a pot going in the kitchen.”

“That would be lovely.” Nicole answered, maintaining firm eye contact. Waverly was pretty impressed with her handling of Gus so far.

“Cream and sugar?”

“Black, no sugar, please.”

That drew an approving nod from Gus, and she gave Waverly the smallest of smiles as she exited into the kitchen. Waverly tamped down the urge to squeal, because approval from Gus was not easily won.

“God, Haught-Stuff, are you trying to date all the women in my family?” Wynonna mocked, sarcastic grin firmly in place.

“No.” Nicole deadpanned back, locking eyes with Wynonna.

Wynonna opened her mouth in mock outrage, turning to Alice, who giggled at the exchange. “Of all the nerve, right kiddo?”

Alice shrugged. “She doesn’t make you smile the way she makes Auntie Waverly smile, so I don’t know why you’d want to date her anyway.”

Waverly caught Nicole’s eye, feeling a bit shy at the comment, but Nicole reached out and gave her hand a squeeze, settling her nerves. She felt content in the moment, standing there with Nicole amongst the people in her life that meant the most to her. It felt right, like she’d found a missing piece.

The feeling lasted over the next few hours until Nicole took her leave, kissing Waverly again on the front porch with an intensity that made her toes curl.

Waverly waved goodbye in a dream-like state as Nicole drove away in her truck, not even noticing the cold.

Best Christmas ever.

*****

**ONE WEEK LATER**

Kissing Nicole Haught turned out to be extremely habit forming.

Waverly found herself indulging in the habit again, distantly aware of the din of noise and bodies around them. The fingers at her waist squeezed slightly when she switched the angle of their kiss, making it hard to convince herself to pull away.

“Gross.” Wynonna coughed loudly to disguise the word, finally breaking through to Waverly. She pulled back, blinking at Nicole as she finally remembered that they were in Shorty’s bar, along with what felt like half the town, to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

One of Nicole’s hands lifted from her waist, and Waverly knew she was flipping Wynonna the bird behind her back. Waverly gently guided that hand to her lips to give it a quick kiss before taking a step back from where she stood between Nicole’s legs.

Waverly turned to shoot an unimpressed look at her sister. “If you find it so gross, you can just,” she held a hand up and swung two fingers back and forth to mimic walking. “Be somewhere else.”

“Rude.” Wynonna responded. “Also rude?” She held up her glass shaking the liquid in it. “The fact that I haven’t been able to get any ice in a drink for the last _hour_ because you two are melting it all.”

“Sorry, not sorry.” Nicole said, placing a hand on Waverly’s hip and drawing her backwards, dropping her chin onto her shoulder.

Wynonna narrowed her eyes. “You two are incapable of not touching each other for five whole seconds. It’s insufferable.”

“Stop giving them a hard time.” Rosita cut in, sliding a new drink to Wynonna. “Like you haven’t been in here with your tongue down some guys throat more than once.” She raised her eyebrows, daring Wynonna to challenge that little truth.

“Why Rosita, I didn't think you cared enough to notice.” She held up her glass in salute.

Rosita rolled her eyes not taking the bait. “How are you two on drinks?” She asked Waverly and Nicole.

“I’m good for now. You?” Nicole asked Waverly, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.

“I’m good, too.”

Rosita eyed them as she filled a glass with water from the soda gun. “Uh huh.” She surveyed the bar before returning her attention to them. “You know, there’s still over an hour until midnight. It seems to me the two of you have other things you could be doing to ring in the new year. But that’s just a personal observation.”

Heat crept up Waverly’s cheeks. Rosita wasn’t necessarily wrong, they had spent more time than not kissing and touching in some way the last couple hours. Honestly, Waverly felt like it was out of their control, they were like magnets drawn back together again and again. Only a week had passed, but good god did it turn out they had physical chemistry. An abundance of it, actually. But there was more to things between them than just the physical.

The night after Christmas, Nicole picked her up and took her to dinner, on their first official date. Two nights after that, they’d met with Robin and Jeremy at Mama June’s for some live music. They’d shared a lunch date yesterday, and at one point Nicole had said something so sweet Waverly had almost crawled over the table with a need to kiss her. The thing that stuck out to Waverly through it all, though, was how comfortable she felt. Nicole listened when she talked, and Waverly loved listening to her in return, finding out more about each other’s lives. There did happen to be a growing amount of kissing and touching between it all, but Waverly wasn’t complaining.

Waverly pondered their options for the rest of the night. She was nervous about Nicole thinking they were pushing things too fast. She turned to ask Nicole her thoughts, but the question died on her lips when their eyes met.

“Do you want to go to my place?” Nicole asked, her tone lower than normal, but steady and even.

Waverly swallowed. Nicole’s eyes were dark, and it didn’t exactly take an observational genius to understand what she was thinking about. “Honestly? Yes. But, I don’t want you to think this is just some fast and furious thing that’s going to burn out. I’m willing to wait if this makes you nervous.”

The ghost of a smile was on Nicole’s lips. “It _is_ fast.”

Waverly ducked her head, not sure if disappointment was fair to feel at the response. She was surprised when Nicole used an index finger to tilt her face back up.

“It also feels right. So, if you want to get out of here, I am more than game.” She leaned in to press a quick kiss to Waverly’s lips, stopping just short. “I told you, you’re special.”

Waverly wove her hands into the back of Nicole’s hair, guiding her into another kiss that lasted more than a few moments before pulling back, completely ignoring the gagging sound she knew came from Wynonna, who was thankfully standing farther away now. She licked at her lips, a pulse hitting her low when Nicole’s eyes followed the action.

“Hey Rosita?” Waverly called across the bar, trying hard to quell any embarrassment at the higher than normal pitch to her voice.

Rosita barely spared them a glance, waving a dismissive hand. “Get out of here, will you? We can settle up later this week.”

Waverly stepped back, holding out a hand to Nicole as she stepped down from her bar stool. “Take me home.”

“As you wish.” Nicole squeezed her hand, leading the way to the front door.

Waverly was distantly aware of the drive in Nicole’s truck. For a moment she wondered if they had both suspected tonight might end this way, having easily come to a consensus earlier to drive to Shorty’s together. The short walk inside of Nicole’s cabin, and up the stairs to her loft bedroom, was also hazy. Nicole promised along the way to show her around later, but for now, they had more important things to tend to.

And did they ever.

Their pace had been frantic, but neither of them seemed capable of slowing it down in the moment. Waverly flopped back on the bed, gasping for breath. Nicole pressed her sweaty forehead against her shoulder, fighting for her own equilibrium. As her heartbeat slowed, Waverly turned her head to press a kiss to the top of Nicole’s head, her eyes catching the clock on the bedside stand.

“Happy New Year, Nicole.” She felt the slightest shiver move through Nicole’s body as her hand traced up her back.

“Is it really already?” Nicole asked, peaking at the clock herself to confirm. Her fingers traced up and down Waverly’s rib cage as she dropped a kiss to her shoulder. “Hey, Waves?”

“Hmmm?” Waverly hummed in response, scratching her fingers softly across Nicole’s back as she luxuriated in the feel of their moving together.

“I think I’d like to start the new year exactly the way we ended the last one.”

A chuckle moved through Waverly, her heart tripping at the smile she felt Nicole press into her skin. She used her free hand to tilt Nicole’s chin up for access to her lips, fighting the urge to get lost in her brown eyes. There’d be time for that later. “I think you read my mind.”

*****

**ONE YEAR LATER**

Waverly hummed along with the radio as she pulled open the oven, a smile curling her lips at the sight that greeted her. Mariah Carey shared her very short Christmas list while Waverly confirmed that the turkey didn’t just look perfect, but would indeed be ready to come out of the oven right on time. She dropped a potholder on the counter in victory and surveyed the table setup.

They’d needed a bigger table in order to host at Nicole’s. Her normal table only comfortably accommodated four, which was perfect for the monthly gay dinner nights they had with Jeremy and Robin, or a family dinner with Wynonna and Alice, but wouldn’t do for Christmas Eve Eve Dinner.

Waverly would have happily carted the table from her house over for the evening, but Nicole had opted to draw up her own plans and build a table for the event. Waverly would be lying if she said she didn’t thoroughly enjoy every moment she got to witness her tool belt clad girlfriend working on the project.

Nicole pushed through the front door, drawing Waverly from the reverie. She stomped her feet against the mat at the entrance, trying to knock loose as much snow as possible from her boots before removing them. She looked around the cabin as she untied the laces. “The place looks great, baby. Seriously, you’ve really outdone yourself, this place has never looked better.”

Waverly beamed at the compliment. Nicole had trusted her to decorate and prepare the cabin for the dinner, and her positive reaction meant everything. “How did it go out there?” She asked, curious about the woman who showed up for a Christmas tree two days before the holiday.

“Good.” Nicole moved to stand in front of the fireplace, holding her hands out to rid herself of the chill. It was a cold night. “Her boyfriend broke up with her a couple weeks ago, so she didn’t feel like celebrating the holiday much. But I guess she got hit with some Christmas empowerment this morning and decided she didn’t need a man to celebrate the holidays.” She gave a rueful grin. “She used more colorful language than that. I think she and Wynonna would get along nicely.”

Waverly’s heart swelled as she watched the light from the fireplace flicker across Nicole’s face in the dimmed cabin lighting. The past year had been more than she ever could have hoped for. Their first night together had not been a fluke in the physical department. They still gravitated towards each other when in the same room, unconsciously finding ways to touch regardless of the moment. But their was so much more to their relationship growth than the physical.

They’d encountered their share of ups and downs. It turned out, while Nicole had struggled with her fear of starting the relationship, Waverly harbored fears when it came to saying her first _I love you_ out loud. She didn’t know, never realized, just how far off her prior relationships were to such a confession, and she suspects now it was on purpose. But it was different with Nicole.

Everything was different with Nicole.

The patience she’d shown after murmuring the three words for the first time, giving nothing but kindness and understanding as Waverly struggled to verbalize her own feelings, was nothing short of amazing. She’d allowed Waverly to pour every bit of her feelings into her kisses, accepting it however Waverly was willing to give. And through it all, she never stopped telling Waverly she loved her, gently, with no hesitation.

It was right around the time Waverly was finally able to whisper the words that she’d started staying at Nicole’s as often as she did home. It was an actual joy to experience the current Christmas season at the Farm, alongside Nicole. There’d been sledding with Alice, night time walks along the trails Nicole had groomed on the property, and a group trek into the woods to find a Christmas tree suitable to cutdown for both the Earp home and for Nicole’s cabin. Alice got to pick the former, Nicole let Waverly pick the latter. Life was good, Waverly mused, in a way she never saw coming. Last year she was lamenting something missing from her life. Now, her cup overflowed with so much love, laughter and happiness, she almost had a hard time believing it was real.

“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Nicole asked, narrowing her eyes at Waverly’s silence.

Waverly shook herself out of the memories of the past year, stepping into Nicole’s space. “Just thinking about how happy I am.”

Nicole gave one of her slow, dazzling smiles that never failed to give Waverly butterflies. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Waverly whispered, winding her hands into the hair at the nape of Nicole’s neck and drawing her down into a kiss. “I love you.” Waverly told her when they parted, holding eye contact to ensure Nicole understood the depths of her most important truth.

“Never stop saying that.” Nicole whispered.

Waverly’s stomach flipped at the implications of the statement. The feelings swelled up inside her and she just had to kiss Nicole again.

A knock at the door interrupted the moment, but Waverly knew it was coming at some point. She was excited for tonight, but she was already formulating plans for when everyone cleared out.

“Don’t give me that look, I recognize when you’re up to no good, Waverly Earp.” Nicole teased, lightly tapping her index fingers against Waverly’s jaw line.

Waverly feigned her most innocent face. “Me? No good? Not possible.”

Nicole had the audacity to snort, but she drew Waverly in for another kiss. Waverly actually managed to forget they had people waiting at the front door until more insistent knocking sounded through the cabin.

“I can hear you breathing all weird, stop making out and let us in, it’s cold!” Wynonna called through the door.

“Mama, you’re embarrassing.” They heard Alice droll.

Waverly squeezed her eyes shut. “Sorry my family is crazy.”

Nicole stroked her thumb up and down Waverly’s cheek. “No apology necessary. I can handle it.”

A radiant smile spread on Waverly’s face at the confident tone Nicole used. “Worth it?” She knew the answer already, but hearing it was still beautiful.

“Always.”

**THE END**

 


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